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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;MrNate, post: 2459288, member: 5515&quot;]These are great questions!</p><p><br /></p><p>1. What you said about the fun house mirror is a perfect explanation of what I was trying to describe. When a piece looks very uniform across the surface, in my mind I imagine the base metal is rigid (like copper would be). But when I see that subtle wavy look, I hope that I’m looking at a soft metal (and hopefully silver). </p><p><br /></p><p>Tone: I think I could write a book on the importance of tone to do what I’m doing. It’s one of the most important clues. While not foolproof, here’s a few observations that I utilize every day regarding tone:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. plated pieces often tarnish in a uniform manner. The entire sheet of metal slowly changes from silver to brownish from the copper base. </p><p><br /></p><p>2. contrasted with sterling tarnish. I imagine a sterling piece forms waves/clouds of subtle tarnish. Sterling gets cloudy or hazy first (so to my eye it looks soft) and then you start to see a non uniform yellow. When the tarnish really starts to kick in, it gets very dark in the creases of a piece. It’s not usually uniform. The piece doesn’t turn brown usually. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you want to try your skills, try out the new game I posted I’m the forum last night. Focus on wavy indicators and the tone stuff I mentioned and see if you can sniff out the sterling pieces in the photo.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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