posted on November 9, 2003 07:57:44 PM new
Does it have any numbers like "925" or anything else on it? I've found Mexican silver that was also marked with the Sterling 925 mark on it and it was lovely.
posted on November 9, 2003 09:37:04 PM newUsually Mexican Silver is either 900 or 925 fine. Not as pure as USA or European
Sorry, but...
US sterling standard is 925/1000.
European varies, but Continental silver is generally 800/1000.
Japanese is commonly 950/1000.
I have seen jewelry marked "Mexican Silver" that seemed not to be sterling silver; didn't tarnish, didn't clean up with a silver wipe, etc. It may be white metal.
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The beauty of the California political process is that "Recall Gray Davis" can now have a question mark on the end.
posted on November 9, 2003 09:58:16 PM new
Mexico has some very beautiful sterling silver jewelry. But for years many tourists have gone down there and bought cheap jewelry such as Alpaca which isn't sterling silver so of course they think Mexican sterling isn't any good.
This is an interesting page about the basics of buying silver there.
posted on November 9, 2003 10:00:06 PM new
You really have to be careful about "Mexican Silver". I had a friend buy a necklace in Mexico stamped Mexican Silver. It weighed around 2 ounces and only cost him $5.00. That didn't sound right to me,so I got out my trusty magnet. Picked up his "silver" necklace real handy-like. Not quite so great a deal after all.
posted on November 10, 2003 04:56:05 AM new
yes,alpaca is the metal they use.
if it sounds too good to be true,it is not silver.
some of the thai jewelry stamped sterling silver does not have enough silver to qualify as sterling/
one jeweler who smuggles a suitcase full of thai silver found out the hard way-the us customs tested it and found out .
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posted on November 10, 2003 07:37:35 AM new
The piece of jewelry I have is a bird. All it is marked is Mexican Silver but doesn't have the shine like 925. It is very light and I think what we used to call hollow ware. The piece is pressed silver with a backing on it. It is rather large about 3 inches high and wide but very light. I don't have a picture so I can't post it.
