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Would you believe this is low silver?

Posted by Lynn Ardent on June 8, 2015 at 2:39am

Would you believe this Yemeni bracelet is low silver? I thought this would be instructive to add to show how refined low silver can be. I bought this bracelet as a gift for my mother, and because I knew she would prefer it to be gleaming, set out to fully clean it. This is the result of 1) vinegar soak to remove verdigris and old silver polish, 2) polish with very fine grained polish paper 5-1 micron, 3) polish with polishing cloth. I tested this bracelet and it is below 50% silver content! I put a few more photos in the comments.

Comments

Lynn Ardent June 8, 2015 at 2:45am
Nada June 8, 2015 at 11:29am

It's splendid Lynn. Sometimes low or no silver can be even more beautiful than the high grade silver pieces.
Betty June 8, 2015 at 1:27pm

Stunning result, Lynn! I am sure your mother will love this wonderful bracelet.

May I ask how you test your pieces?
Lynn Ardent June 8, 2015 at 9:09pm

Dear Betty and Nada, thank you for your kind comments. Nada I very much agree that low silver can be gorgeous. Betty, I have been asked a few times recently how I test pieces and I wrote a blog post (with a lot of caveats) here. I am sure other members could probably improve on this writeup.

https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/profiles/blogs/testing-silver-content
Eva Baby June 15, 2015 at 9:57am

I love this very much, it Looks stunning. Never mind the low grade silver.
Patricia Deany June 15, 2015 at 12:41pm

Stunning, I love this, I will try your methods on my own silver.
ingrid Langerak June 15, 2015 at 4:12pm

Dear Lynn, It for sure is a beauty , uncommon in pattern and I think it is most probably a lot older than the ones seen of later years. Also do realise that for low silver which holds more nickel is a lot hardier than the high silver content. So....to get this lovely warm look it is worn intensive for quite a number of years and explains the unusual workmanship. Normally these bracelets are worn above the elbow. Good find. GR. Ingrid