Is my jewelry real?
How to tell if a ring, chain or pair of earrings is real gold, silver or diamond. Read the stamp, run the two or three home tests that actually work, or upload a photo and get the evidence read for you.
Free preview on every photoYour photo is read once in memory and never stored. Only the written report is kept, and only when you unlock it.
The fastest answer is usually already on the piece: a stamp inside the band, on the clasp or on the back of a pendant.
Step 1: read the stamp
Look inside the ring band, on the clasp or tag of a chain, on the post or back of an earring. Use your phone camera zoomed in, or a loupe. The letters after a karat number matter as much as the number: they are where plated jewelry admits what it is.
| Stamp | What it claims | Real? |
|---|---|---|
| 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K / 417, 585, 750, 916 | Solid gold of that purity | Real gold, if the stamp is genuine |
| 14KP, 10KP | "Plumb": at least the stated karat | Real gold |
| 925, STER, STERLING | Sterling silver, 92.5% silver | Real silver |
| PT950, PLAT, 950 PT | Platinum, 95% | Real platinum |
| 925 on gold-coloured jewelry, VERMEIL | Gold plating over sterling silver | Real silver, gold surface only |
| GF, 1/20 14K GF, 12K GF | Gold-filled: a thick gold layer bonded to base metal | Not solid gold |
| RGP, 1/40 RGP | Rolled gold plate: a thinner bonded layer | Not solid gold |
| GP, GEP, HGE, 18K GE | Gold plated or electroplated | Not solid gold |
| EPNS, EP, SILVER PLATE | Silver plated, often over nickel silver | Not solid silver |
| ALPACA, NICKEL SILVER, GERMAN SILVER | Copper, nickel and zinc alloy | Contains no silver |
| TIBET SILVER, TIBETAN SILVER | Usually a base-metal alloy | Usually no silver |
| No stamp at all | Nothing claimed | Unknown; many old and handmade pieces are unmarked |
For every other mark, from 800 silver to PD palladium, see our jewelry stamps table. Assay office hallmarks, the small shields and symbols on British and European pieces, are independent tests and much harder to fake: see how to read jewelry hallmarks.
Step 2: check that the piece agrees with its stamp
Anyone with a punch can stamp 14K or 925 on brass, and marketplace fakes often carry a stamp. So the question is whether everything else about the piece matches it. These tests are ordered from harmless to destructive.
| Test | Real | Fake | How much it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnet | No pull | Clear pull means steel, iron or nickel | Rules fakes out, never proves real |
| Wear at edges | Same colour all the way through | A different metal shows at edges, prongs and the clasp | Good for plating |
| Skin marks | None, or faint on low karat gold | Green or black marks where it touches skin | Weak; 10K and sterling can mark too |
| Ceramic streak | Gold leaves a gold streak | Black or grey streak | Good, but it scratches the piece |
| Ice cube (silver) | Ice melts fast on silver, which conducts heat well | Melts slowly, like on a steel spoon | Useful for flat silver |
| Acid test | Metal survives the acid for its karat | Metal reacts or dissolves | Reliable; jewelers do it, often free |
| XRF scan | Reads the exact alloy | Reads the base metal | Most reliable, non-destructive |
| Float or vinegar test | — | — | Unreliable, skip it |
The most telling sign needs no tools: look at the places that rub, such as the underside of a ring band, the edges of a chain link, the prongs and the clasp. Plating wears there first, and a copper-pink, grey or silver colour under gold means the piece is plated, whatever the stamp says.
How to tell if a diamond is real
- Fog test: breathe on the stone. A diamond clears in a second or two; glass and cubic zirconia stay fogged noticeably longer.
- Facet edges: under a loupe, diamond facet edges are sharp. Cubic zirconia and glass show slightly rounded or chipped edges.
- Doubling: looking through the side of a moissanite, the back facet edges appear doubled. Diamond does not double.
- The setting: a stone in a ring stamped 925 or with no karat mark at all is less likely to be a diamond. Fine diamonds are mostly set in gold or platinum.
Two limits matter. Moissanite passes the fog test and most handheld diamond testers, so a beeping tester is not the last word. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, chemically the same as mined ones, and no home test or photo can separate them; that takes a lab report or a gemologist's equipment.
What a photo of your jewelry can show
Upload a sharp photo and the report reads the stamp as far as it is legible, describes the metal colour at worn points, looks for flaking or wear-through, and checks whether the construction and the stones fit the claim on the stamp. It ranks the possibilities, for example "solid 14K gold" against "gold-plated base metal", with a confidence for each, and lists the check that would settle it.
A photo cannot weigh the piece, measure its density or react with acid, so it cannot prove a piece is real. It is good at catching the fakes that give themselves away, and at telling you whether a piece is worth taking to a jeweler for an acid or XRF test, which many jewelers and gold buyers do for free.
Your photo is read once in memory and never stored. Only the written report is kept, and only when you unlock it.
If it is real, what is it worth?
Solid gold is worth at least its melt value: weight times purity times the gold price. Our jewelry value estimator calculates it from the stamp and the weight, and explains when a piece is worth more than melt. For rings, the ring identifier also names the ring type, setting and likely age.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if my ring is real gold?
Start with the stamp inside the band: 10K, 14K, 18K or 417, 585, 750 claim solid gold, while GP, GEP, HGE, RGP and GF mean plated or filled. Then check that the ring agrees with the stamp: no other colour showing through at worn edges, no pull from a strong magnet, no green or black marks on your skin. An acid test or XRF at a jeweler settles it for certain.
Does a 14K stamp mean my jewelry is real gold?
It means the maker claims 14 karat gold. Most stamped pieces are what they say, but a stamp is easy to fake, so a 14K stamp on a piece that shows a base-metal colour at worn edges, or sticks to a magnet, is a fake stamp. Letters after the karat mark matter: 14K GF is gold-filled and 14K GP is plated.
Is gold magnetic?
No. Gold, silver and platinum are not magnetic, so a piece that clearly pulls toward a strong magnet has iron, steel or nickel in it. The reverse does not hold: brass, copper and aluminium are not magnetic either, so passing the magnet test proves nothing on its own.
How do I know if a diamond is real at home?
Breathe on the stone: a diamond sheds heat fast and the fog clears in a second or two, while glass and cubic zirconia stay fogged longer. Look at the facet edges with a loupe: diamond edges are crisp, cubic zirconia edges are slightly rounded. Moissanite passes the fog test and most heat testers, and lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, so only a gemologist with lab equipment separates those.
Can you tell if jewelry is real from a photo?
Partly. A sharp photo shows the stamp, wear-through at edges, flaking plating, the colour under the surface and how stones are set, and those catch most fakes. A photo cannot measure density or react with acid, so a piece that looks right in a photo can still be plated. Our report says which signs it saw and how sure it is.