As the saying goes, "gold and silver are inseparable." With gold prices continuously hitting new highs, silver is gaining increasing favor due to its relatively lower price, driving a sustained surge in consumer enthusiasm for silver jewelry. However, some consumers have reported that so-called "pure silver" products sold in certain live-streaming rooms are priced far below the international silver price. Upon receipt, these items were tested and found to be alloys of zinc, nickel, brass, and more. Even the accompanying "appraisal certificates" are riddled with inconsistencies. As a more affordable alternative to gold, how can silver consumption be made transparent and clear? An investigation has been conducted.
"Silver-clad" products are being passed off as "pure silver." Topics like "investment silver bars in Shuibei market are in short supply" and "merchants paying premiums to grab silver" have been heating up recently amid soaring silver prices. In live-streaming rooms across multiple shopping platforms, "dirt-cheap" "999 pure silver" and silver ingots with "tenfold compensation for fakes" have proliferated, enticing many consumers to place orders.
"Seeing the continuous rise in silver prices, I couldn't resist the 'temptation of low prices' in a live stream between December 20 and 25 last year and purchased several pieces of '999 pure silver' jewelry advertised as supporting testing and coming with certificates," shared consumer Ms. Bao, recounting her experience.
According to Ms. Bao's recollection, the silver jewelry in that live stream was priced lower than similar products on the market. The host repeatedly emphasized that the items for sale were "999 pure silver" jewelry and "supported testing," with the product page stating that each item came with an "NGTC Gemstone and Jewelry Appraisal Certificate."
An incidental test, however, yielded a shocking result. "After the price rose, I originally intended to melt them down for resale, but I was dumbfounded when I took them to the melting facility," Ms. Bao said. The test data she provided showed that these so-called "pure silver" ornaments contained only 1.4% silver, 6.2% nickel, and a staggering 87% brass composition.
Liang Yonghui, Deputy Secretary-General of the Gold and Silver Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and Deputy General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refinery Co., Ltd., stated that when silver prices enter a rapid upward cycle, the risks of inferior products being passed off as genuine and counterfeits in the market often rise simultaneously. Violations such as low-purity silver, silver-plated items, and silver-clad products being misrepresented as "pure silver" are significantly more likely to occur during this phase.
"Previously, silver adulteration issues were almost unheard of, but recently, new counterfeiting methods like 'silver-clad' have begun to appear," Liang Yonghui said. When prices rise and profit margins expand, some unscrupulous merchants are more inclined to seek improper gains through material fraud and fake certificates, which are often difficult for the average consumer to identify with the naked eye.
It is understood that some products currently on the market labeled as "silver-clad," "thick silver-clad," or "non-tarnishing silver" are not high-purity silver jewelry in the true sense. The problems primarily focus on three areas: safety hazards, material falsification, and inferior quality.
First are the safety hazards. The base metal may cause allergies and health risks. "Silver-clad" items typically use metals like copper, brass, nickel silver, or stainless steel as a base, with a very thin layer of silver electroplated on the surface. If the plating process is substandard, components like nickel and lead from the base metal can leach out. Nickel is a common allergenic metal, and prolonged wear can lead to skin allergies, itching, redness, swelling, and even contact dermatitis.
Second is material falsification, having no substantive relation to "pure silver" or "sterling silver." Some merchants market concepts like "silver-clad" or "process silver," implying properties similar to pure silver or sterling silver, even claiming they are "fire-resistant, color-fast, and indistinguishable from real silver." However, the main body of such products is not silver, and the silver content is low. They possess neither the investment value of precious metals nor the保值属性 and recycling value inherent to genuine silver jewelry.
Third is inferior quality. Because the surface silver plating is extremely thin and often does not employ standard precious metal electroplating techniques, daily activities like friction with clothing, hand washing, housework, or perspiration can accelerate wear. If the base metal is exposed, not only does the appearance deteriorate rapidly, but the base metal also comes into direct contact with the skin, further amplifying the risks.
The cost of forging detection certificates is remarkably low. After discovering the material discrepancy, Ms. Bao further scrutinized the accompanying "NGTC appraisal certificate" and found numerous issues.
She informed reporters that using the information on the certificate, she entered the certificate number into the official website of the National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC) for verification but found no relevant records. Compared to legitimate appraisal documents, this "certificate" also lacked an anti-counterfeiting code, a testing date, a steel seal, and other basic information, clearly not conforming to the standard format of reports issued by authoritative testing institutions.
"Neither the query channel, the layout elements, nor the content standards matched," Ms. Bao stated, indicating that this so-called "appraisal certificate" was actually a fake document produced by the merchant.
An e-commerce professional involved in precious metals trading revealed that legitimate precious metal testing certificates are typically issued by authoritative bodies like the National Gold and Silver Products Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. These involve professional methods such as spectral analysis to determine metal composition and purity. The certificates usually bear qualification marks like CMA (China Metrology Accreditation) and CNAS (China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment), granting them legal validity.
The investigation found that some online platforms openly sell "customized testing certificates" at listed prices. For just a few yuan, one can generate a so-called "testing certificate," where the test content, purity, serial number, and even the QR code redirect page can be arbitrarily modified according to demand.
Posing as a buyer, a reporter contacted a merchant claiming to provide "professional testing certificates." The customer service representative bluntly stated, "Two yuan is enough to make one." However, when the reporter scanned the QR code on the provided certificate for verification, it was discovered that although the certificate was labeled "NGTC Gemstone and Jewelry Quality Inspection Center," the redirected website's domain name was not the official NGTC domain but "yhjcjd." The so-called "NGTC certification" was essentially a counterfeit proof document packaged under the guise of an authoritative institution's name.
Sang Tian, a lawyer at Shanghai Dehe Hantong Law Firm, stated that selling low-priced items advertised as "pure silver" that are actually silver-clad, accompanied by fake certificates, constitutes more than a general product quality dispute. It involves suspected consumer fraud and forgery of documentary evidence, among other illegal activities.
The unspoken rule of listing "dual-tactic products" in live-streaming rooms persists. The investigation revealed that some precious metal live-streaming shops list pure silver products priced close to the international silver rate, but the focus during broadcasts is on promoting significantly cheaper items described as "just like pure silver." Although the unit price of such goods is often between ten and several dozen yuan, under the诱惑 of hosts repeatedly emphasizing "welfare prices," "supporting verification," and "free gift boxes with purchase," some elderly consumers or those unfamiliar with precious metal markets often place bulk orders hoping for a "bargain."
Notably, the lifecycle of many such live-streaming rooms and shops is short. If consumers file complaints, the relevant product links are quickly taken down, and some shops even display "suspended operations," only to reappear shortly after under new accounts and names.
According to platform violation guidelines, such practices constitute false material宣传, meaning the actual material of the product is inconsistent with the live-stream宣传 or product detail page information. Previously, some e-commerce platforms claimed to have cracked down on such phenomena and penalized relevant accounts, yet these marketing tactics continue to recur.
Regarding the practice of listing "dual-tactic products" on some live-streaming platforms, Lin Teng, a lawyer at Shanghai Sunhold Law Firm, explained that under current regulations, platforms should fulfill corresponding management responsibilities. Platforms have necessary review and management obligations towards入驻 merchants. If a platform is aware or should be aware of obvious counterfeit sales, false advertising, or forged certificates but fails to take action, it may bear joint liability for consumer losses. However, if a platform takes timely measures upon receiving reports or identifying issues, preserves evidence, and cooperates with regulatory investigations and consumer rights protection, it is generally considered to have fulfilled its reasonable management duties, with the primary legal responsibility resting on the involved hosts and merchants.
Sang Tian also noted that concepts like "silver-clad" and "non-tarnishing silver" are not standard precious metal classifications under national standards. If consumers discover that purchased "999 pure silver" is fake or the检测证书 is forged, they can complain and report to market supervision authorities, preserving evidence such as live-stream recordings and test results to safeguard their legitimate rights according to the law.
Compared to the more widely recognized gold, silver has long been used for industrial manufacturing, leading to a general lack of professional knowledge about silver products among ordinary consumers. Liang Yonghui emphasized that consumers should raise their standards for purchasing silver jewelry at the source. He recommended opting for reputable brand stores operated by state-owned enterprises, listed companies, or banks when buying precious metal products. Consumers should carefully verify quality credentials like检测证书 and avoid falling for temporary bargains, guarding against low-price traps.
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