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925 Pandora bracelets sold on eBay are turning red

I have purchased several sizes of bulk sold pandora bracelets on eBay . The company is located in China or Hong Kong. One had a dark rust discoloration in its clasp. The company resolved this issue right away and sent another, however, the bracelet I currently wear has started to turn red where the beads rest on it between the screw stopper areas.

I do not wear this item everyday nor bath or shower with it on. They are all advertised as 925 Sterling Silver and are stamped 925 on the clasp. As I intend to gift and or sell these popular items, I am concerned with their quality. The redness was not removed with Wenol [adv: Wenol on eBay or Amazon [affil links] silver cleaner. Any suggestions or comment?

Paula Banysch
hobbyist looking to eventually sell - British Columbia, Canada
April 26, 2010

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Hi I may be wrong, but it does appear from your photo that the item could be silver plated copper. The silver layer is therefore quite thin, and has simply rubbed off. your suspicion about selling the pins on as 925 silver could be well founded. As the photo appears to show that they are not.
regards

Mark Lees
- Isle of Man
May 20, 2010

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I see a lot of that in silver and some in gold as well. What they do is make an object out of a cheaper metal like steel or tin and then toss a copper plate on it. From there they either plate it with gold or silver and sell it. A lot of them are stamped 14CT gold or fine silver. I once asked a jeweler friend of mine about the ethics involved in this. He asked me, does it look like its plated with 14CT gold? I answered that it certainly did look like it. He said well then I imagined the plate probably is 14CT gold and the conversation ended. Whether it was plate or solid gold was not advertised it merely said 14CT gold. Which it probably was! I wouldn't be to surprised to learn that your item is magnetic.

Rod Henrickson
gunsmith - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
May 20, 2010