Tibetan silver and many other types of silver described as “tribal” silver etc are base metal alloys that are only silver in appearance. Contents of the alloys vary tremendously and many contain no silver content whatsoever. Some of these imports from exotic lands contain dangerous metals such as lead. Buyer beware. This jewelry should be purchased with caution and never ever given to children. Tribal pieces can be quite beautiful so purchase for the value of the design rather than the value of the metal.