The key to identification of gold and silver products

Gold and silver are easy to process, and gold and silver products are constantly being manufactured. As time goes by, some of the past gold and silver products are buried in the ground, some are collected by people, and some are left in the world. It is not known. People always worry about how to identify the true and false of these gold and silver products. So, is there any key to the identification of gold and silver products? Gold and silver products are items that people like, and they are soft in texture. Gold and silver are the favorite processing materials of craftsmen. Due to the easy processing characteristics of gold and silver, gold and silver products are continuously manufactured. As time goes by, some of the past gold and silver products are buried in In the underground, some are collected by people, and some live in the mortal world, unknown. People always worry about how to identify the true and false, good or bad of these gold and silver products. So, is there any key to the identification of gold and silver products? The identification of gold and silver products mainly includes two aspects, one is the identification of the texture of the material, and the other is the identification of the year of manufacture. (1) The density of gold is large. Generally speaking, for metal products of the same volume, gold products are much heavier, and products that are too light must be fakes. (2) Gold and silver have low hardness, soft texture and strong ductility. If a metal object is used to lightly scratch a gold and silver product, it will generally leave the genuine product with dents, and the fake product will leave scratches. (3) The chemical properties of gold and silver are relatively stable, especially gold, which is not easy to oxidize in the air, while copper and iron products are easy to oxidize and rust. Gold does not change its color in acidic liquids (such as dilute hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, etc.), while copper products will lose their luster only when they touch nitric acid. If it is gold-plated, the gold-plated surface is easy to fall off, not only is the peeling part easy to rust, even the gold-plated surface is easily covered by copper. If it is to identify the year of its manufacture, the identification is more difficult. What are the key points for the identification of gold and silver products? Generally speaking, the identification of the age of gold and silver objects cannot be separated from the research on the inscriptions of the artifacts, the age determination of the unearthed tombs, and the analysis and research on the shape, decoration, and production techniques of the artifacts. In comparison, the study of artifacts inscriptions is the most direct and most important basis. From the perspective of the development of Chinese gold and silverware, inscriptions on gold and silverware before the Tang Dynasty are rare. After the Tang Dynasty, especially after the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the number of gold and silver with inscriptions increased significantly. Although there are no inscriptions on some gold and silver wares, the inscriptions on other similar shapes of gold and silver wares accompanied by the same place can be used to indirectly determine the age. Determining the age of unearthed tombs undoubtedly has important reference value for determining the age of gold and silverware. Studying the shape, decoration, manufacturing technology, and inscriptions of artifacts is the most widely used method to determine the age of artifacts. Because the artifacts of each era inevitably bear the mark of that era and have unique style characteristics of that era. Using the coexistence relationship of similar artifacts in archaeology, after careful comparative study, we can find out standard artifacts of a certain period or era. Such artifacts basically have the common characteristics of similar artifacts of the same period or the same period, and then they will be unearthed Compare other similar utensils with established standard utensils, or compare with the characteristics of known similar utensils, so as to make a judgment on the age of the utensils. What are the key points for the identification of gold and silver products? In addition, unlike forging ancient copper, jade and other artifacts, the most common method of forging gold and silverware is to falsify the material quality, mostly for the purpose of seeking high profits. Chronological counterfeiters are still rare, and this has also resulted in the lack of chronological identification of gold and silver wares, either theoretically or practically, and there is a lack of systematic research and experience summaries in this area. Although experienced people can skillfully distinguish between authenticity and counterfeit according to the texture, sound, taste, and color of artifacts, or infer the age based on the shape, ornamentation, inscriptions, and the characteristics of the times of the shaping and processing techniques, but Scientific research, ascertaining and systematically summarizing the known results and experiences, still needs a lot of meticulous work and in-depth research. Previous: How to take care of your silver jewelry Next: The story of two Xuantong ingots