A quick way of determining whether or not jewelry is gold, silver, sterling, or copper is by using a strong magnet. Precious metals do not stick to a magnet! When you have a lot of jewelry to go through this speeds up the process instead of using a magnifier and looking for markings on every piece.
Now I use my amazing magnet to separate the jewelry into groups. This is where teaching comes in handy because I love categorizing and organizing. I start by grouping the jewelry by whether or not it is magnetic. The nonmagnetic items are then sorted into the following piles: appears to be gold, silver/sterling, copper, and unknown.
I bought my mega magnet at a coin shop that pays cash for gold. Observation is key in learning. I had my first hint that this was a useful tool when I was working the flea market and saw a gentleman with a coin magnifier (that can be found at Books-a-Million) and a little magnet hanging on a lanyard around his neck. I politely questioned about the magnet and he enlightened me. This new knowledge was further supported by the coin shop since that is how they quickly sort what they will test or not test with a kit (this will be in a future post).
The magnet in question is 80 times (at least) a regular magnet's strength. It is so strong that if it comes into contact with a cell phone or laptop it wipes out all the memory!
I wrapped strong magnet in duck tape so it won't scratch the jewelry (or anything it comes in contact with). If you are a treasure hunter, a magnet is the perfect item for you!
This one looks similar to the one I bought at the coin shop.
The coin shop sold it to me for fifteen dollars. I would recommend talking to a local business before purchasing this magnet.
If you are a treasure hunter, a magnet is the perfect item for you!
