Can the 925 stamp on silver jewelry be faked?

Although in theory mark "925" (or alternatively mark "sterling") could be faked in silver jewelry, the truth of the matter is that it is a federal offence to do so. According to the National Gold and Silver Marking Act that went into effect back in 1981, it is mandatory to clarify the metal quality, usually on the inside of the jewelry piece. Therefore, faking a 925 stamp is not considered so lightly and doing so will have serious federal consequences. As a matter of fact, jewelers will recommend that one of the more reliable ways to find out whether your sterling silver is real or not is just by examining whether it has a 925 mark. Therefore, if professionals in the jewelry industry rely on this mark as an authentication guarantee, there is no reason why you shouldn't.

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Just to clarify, a 925 stamp on silver jeweler is a stamp authenticating that the silver is at least 92.5 percent pure silver, with up to 7.5 percent alloys, generally copper - which means that the silver is sterling silver.

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Unfortunately, it can. Anyone can purchase the 925 stamp and mark the fake silver jewelry as if it were real sterling silver jewelry. Jewelers don't usually go to all the trouble of fake-stamping the jewelry and selling it as though it were real sterling silver jewelry, however it can be done. If your ring is stamped 925 but it still oxidizes and turns your skin green, or causes skin irritation, then I suggest you try and return the item because it is most defiantly not genuine sterling silver.

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