This article is addressed to those who have doubts about the quality of the purchased pearl jewelry or want to gain important knowledge before purchasing jewelry. We will tell you how to check the authenticity of pearls at home and even in a store.
5 Methods for Testing Pearls
This is considered to be natural and cultured pearls, fake - glass or plastic bead covered with a layer of mother-of-pearl.
- We look carefully.
Look at the pearl from different angles. Real mother-of-pearl has a heterogeneous shade, hence the beautiful tints and reflections. It is even easier to see the transitions of mother-of-pearl tones by placing the pearls in a container of clean water.
The shape of the beads will not be perfectly even; minor surface defects are possible. But fake pearls demonstrate the perfection of shape, the same size and color of the beads in the decoration. It is also good to compare jewelry whose authenticity is beyond doubt with those that need to be verified. The differences will be immediately noticeable.
- Let's try it on the tooth.
Lightly bite the pearl with your front incisors and gently slide it between your teeth. There should be a feeling of slight roughness. If the bead is absolutely smooth, this is a sign of a fake. Just keep in mind that your teeth must be cleaned and you cannot press too hard on the pearls, as there is a risk of damaging the mother of pearl. Be careful not to swallow the pearl.
It will not be possible to check the authenticity of the stone in the ring in this way, because for the experiment you need at least two pearls. But it is quite possible to “control” beads, a bracelet, or make sure that you got high-quality pearls on earrings. If the beads slide easily when rubbed against each other and no pearlescent pollen remains on them, then this is a fake. When rubbed, real pearls create resistance, which produces a quiet rustling sound. Remains on their surface white trail pearlescent “powder”, which disappears as soon as you run your finger over the bead.
- We feel and compare.
If possible, compare an obvious fake and a supposedly real pearl of the same diameter. The imitation will be smoother and lighter than the real thing. Plus, real pearls are cool.
- We arm ourselves with a microscope or magnifying glass.
A technically enhanced gaze will allow you to examine the structure of mother-of-pearl. Under a magnifying glass, the surface of a real pearl resembles a labyrinth or fish scales, while a fake pearl has a grainy texture.
Using a magnifying device, you can also examine the hole on the bead. Small scratches around it indicate the authenticity of the pearl, and the imitation surface will be perfectly smooth if the bead is new. On an old fake, when the mother-of-pearl has worn away, a plastic or glass base will be visible. Another sign of a real pearl is the line between the core and nacre clearly visible in the hole.
Important to consider
Imitation production technologies are actively developing, and identifying fake pearls is becoming more and more difficult.
The more methods you use when checking, the more signs of authenticity or imitation you will find.
None of the proposed methods and even them complex use does not provide a 100% guarantee of identifying a counterfeit. If you want to get an accurate result, contact a professional jeweler or gemologist. It is very important to consider.
- ATTENTION: when checking pearls, be extremely careful - there is a risk of damaging the jewelry.
Pearls are a gift of nature, given to a person. Its usual habitat is the deep sea. How to distinguish natural pearls from artificial ones - this question has been tormenting people for quite some time. The thing is that there are quite a few natural pearls in nature, so people learned to make them themselves.
What are natural pearls
Natural pearls grow in the shells of certain types of mollusks that live at great depths of the sea. More than half a century ago, a ban was introduced on catching these mother-of-pearl carriers. This ban led to the mass production of fakes, which can be very difficult to distinguish at home from real expensive mother-of-pearl beads. Therefore, it is better to purchase these jewelry in specialized stores. There, each product has its own passport or certificate.
How to determine the authenticity of pearls? There are several tests for this:
- “tooth” test;
- throw a pearl;
- weigh the jewelry in your hand;
- to the touch;
- using an X-ray machine.
Natural stone creaks when you try it “tooth”. You can rub individual pearl balls against each other. Real pearls will then have dust between them. If you throw a natural decoration from a height of 30–50 cm onto a hard surface, it will begin to jump. An artificial ball will not do this. A genuine pearl is much denser artificial product, and it weighs more. But this method of distinguishing natural pearls from fakes does not always work. If fake mother of pearl is created using coral and germanite, it will weigh more than the real thing.
You can hold a pearl in your hand. Real mother of pearl keeps the depths of the sea cool, while artificial mother of pearl maintains the temperature of the room in which it is located. Using an X-ray machine, you can see the density and internal contents of the pearl. All of the above tricks will help you recognize and purchase natural jewelry and not a fake.
Some characteristics of pearls
How to check the authenticity of pearls? This piece of jewelry has a number of features. Only a high-quality fake can be perfect. But a natural pearl cannot be perfectly smooth. There are always small roughnesses on its surface, which are especially noticeable when testing “by the tooth”.
Artificial products are almost always smooth and even.
You need to carefully inspect the drilled hole. Paint may remain on the edges of the fake. When examining the hole through a magnifying glass, you can see the internal composition of the stone. Natural products shine with iridescent color. If the color of the glitter is constant, it is an artificial product. If you place items under ultraviolet lamps, natural jewelry will emit a sky blue glow. Products created artificially glow greenish. Natural stone is afraid of concentrated vinegar, in which it can simply dissolve. The fake can remain there for an unlimited time. But under the influence of fire, artificial mother-of-pearl changes its qualities, while natural mother-of-pearl does not change.
How to distinguish real pearls from fakes in other ways? Natural jewelry is quite difficult to find today. Now they are being grown artificial methods. It started a long time ago. The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus was the first to produce a grown pearl. It was 1761. Some traders are trying to significantly raise the price of jewelry made from artificial mother-of-pearl. You need to know well the 5 main features that natural decoration has:
- unevenness;
- entrails;
- throw from height;
- price.
How to distinguish pearls from fakes? Natural pebble round shape originates from a grain of sand caught in a pearl shell. Over many years, it is enveloped in many thin layers of mother-of-pearl. There is no point in talking about their uniformity under these conditions. Irregularities can be felt when touching the pearl.
The weight of natural peas is significantly higher than artificial ones. Artificial decorations They are often hollow inside, never natural. But this rule does not apply to black or pink mother-of-pearl. Black is made from germanite, pink from coral.
Both are significantly heavier than natural pearls.
Chips and tiny cracks are usually visible at the edges of a drilled hole in artificial stone. Glass or plastic can be visible inside such a hole. Pearls are now grown on special farms. But these products are practically no different from natural ones grown at the bottom of the sea.
On the left are natural pearls, on the right are artificial pearls
A drop from a height of about 50 cm onto a smooth floor or table surface can show how to identify real pearls. To determine quality, you need to drop the product and look at its behavior. Natural stone will bounce, while artificial stone will roll. A crude fake may break.
This will never happen with natural pearls.
Counterfeits usually sell for more than low prices. But sometimes they are passed off as natural pearls. Only specialists can correctly distinguish real products from fakes.
Conclusion on the topic
Natural stone or not? There are quite a few ways to determine this. For example, you can place beads in a field created by several electromagnets. The artificial stone will begin to move in it, but the natural bead will remain in place. When selling natural products, a passport or certificate must be attached. Only verified specimens are used to collect real ones. jewelry. They look quite elegant, highlighting the skin tone and giving more softness and femininity. You can distinguish such products from fakes if you follow a certain technique.
You need to check their weight, the structure of the stone, the evenness of its surface.
Natural pearls retain the coolness of the seabed and have some surface roughness. Through the holes, you can see the inside of the stone with a magnifying glass. If there is plastic or glass there, it is a fake. The pebbles thrown on the table jump - they are real, but they roll - they are fake. If you look at the light, the reflections from natural stones will be bluish, from artificial ones - a greenish or pink tint.
Choose pearl jewelry carefully and wear it for your health. It is recommended to store them in a special velor or velvet bag. Traces of makeup and sweat should be wiped off with a soft cloth.
Now pearls are grown on special farms. Calling it “artificial” is not entirely appropriate. This article will discuss how to distinguish real pearls from those plastic fakes that can be found in many souvenir and jewelry stores.
Pearls from the farm
It is considered natural, as it is “produced” by pearl oysters. Of course, such pearls are cheaper than those found in the wild. But in many countries these mollusks are under threat of destruction, and therefore their fishing is prohibited.
So, pearls are mostly produced on farms. But this does not mean that it loses its natural beauty. At the same time, pearls from the farm are also different. It all depends on the size of the seed. In nature, pearls “begin” with a grain of sand, and on farms, the larger the seed, the faster the pearl becomes required sizes and the cheaper it is.
But sometimes there are outright fakes. Such pearls are made from plastic or any other cheap material.
Method 1. Irregularities
The most famous and simplest way is to evaluate the roughness of the surface of the pearl. The real pearl was gradually covered with natural mother-of-pearl in unequal proportions. As a result, a real pearl is always a little uneven, although it looks smooth. Run your finger (or something else) along the surface of the pearl. The smoother it is, the more likely it is that this is a fake.
Some people suggest placing a pearl on your teeth. They say it’s easier to evaluate irregularities. And if you run the pearl over the tooth, you can hear a special creak. But this method will work if you buy pearls from someone else. In the store you will definitely not be allowed to rub jewelry on your teeth :)
Method 2. Weight
Counterfeits are made of glass or hollow plastic. Sometimes the cavities are filled with wax or something else. Bottom line: a real pearl is heavier than an artificial one.
But determining the weight is difficult. Especially if you have never held pearls in your hands before. So this method is only suitable if you have already kept a real pearl or you always have it with you.
Method 3. Necklaces
If you are buying necklaces, it is much easier to determine the quality. After all, to create necklaces, pearls are carefully drilled. You need to look into the hole and at its edges.
If the pearl is real, then the inside will be just as shiny. In this case, the edges of the hole will be smooth and neat. But the edges of the hole on the fake will be chipped (sometimes you can even see the base: glass or plastic).
Method 4. Drop the pearls!
This barbaric method is (surprisingly) the most best way identify a quality item. If you drop real pearls on the floor, they will bounce up due to their high-density multi-layer structure.
But the fake will simply roll or even crack. Real pearls are very dense and durable, and therefore you don’t have to worry about breaking them.
The only “but”: no one in the jewelry store will let you throw a stone on the floor :) So, this method is only suitable if you buy pearls from someone else.
Method 5. Set it on fire!!!
An even more barbaric method. To be honest, the method is crazy, but it works. The fake will melt, but the real pearl will be of no use.
Needless to say, there is no need to set anything on fire in a jewelry store. After all, there are much more “adequate” ways.
Method 6. Price and documentation
Real pearls are very expensive. Much more expensive than plastic and glass counterfeits. Real pearls are always expensive and under any conditions. Producing it is long and difficult.
If the seller tells you that pearls are cheap because of a special promotion and discount, then this is a scam. Real pearls will never be cheap. In addition, all normal jewelry stores have certificates for their products. Ask the seller for the certificate and he will show it to you. In some stores, such certificates are pre-installed on stands or hung in frames.
High quality fakes
Naturally, there are very high quality fakes. They are made by hand, they have natural color, natural shape and natural weight. But you can still spot a fake.
Sometimes even certificates are forged. The best way to protect yourself from buying fakes is to buy pearls in online jewelry stores.
Thank you for your attention!
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Natural pearls: differences from fakes and ways to determine authenticity at home.
The variety of pearl accessories sometimes raises doubts about its origin. Distinguish artificial stone from natural sources, without special skills, it is very difficult. However, using simple ways By checking the properties of pearls, you can protect yourself from purchasing a cheap fake.
What real pearls look like: description, photo
Wild pearl grains of sandThe elite of accessories is considered to be a product made from natural pearls (wild). In turn, it is divided into:
1. Marine - formed in the form of a regular round shape, has a beautiful bright shine. It matures in the shell for several years. Life cycle is about 10 years. One mantle can contain from one to three pearls. After some time, sea stones fade slightly due to the abrasion of a thin layer of mother-of-pearl. The color is not only white, but various bright and even black.
2. Freshwater - obtained from mollusks that live in rivers and lakes. The number of mother-of-pearl pebbles in one shell can be from 12 to 16. They look dull, the shine is muted. They can be of different shapes, but mostly oval. Resistant to abrasion due to the deep and dense mother-of-pearl layer. Typically milky in color. You cannot grow black or pink freshwater pearls.
Since the price of wild pearls is quite significant, cultured natural pearls are an alternative.
The formation of natural and grown stones occurs in the same way. The only difference is that in one version, alien foreign individuals provoke the formation of a pearl, and in the other, a person promotes maturation by introducing an implant into the mollusk.
Pearls are grown with human help in both sea and fresh water.
Quality and quantity depend on the growth period of the oyster:
- 5 – 9 months thin, fragile layer of mother-of-pearl
- 18 months – year – firm and thick
Type and volume cultured pearl can be planned in advance, unlike wild ones, which are formed naturally.
There are several types of implanted shell, let's look at the most common:
| Variety | Color | Size | Form | Shine | Price |
| "Akoya" |
|
2-10 | Round flat | bright clean | Acceptable |
| "Tahitian" |
|
Very large 8.5-20 | Round | Individual for each individual pearl, with charcoal, silver, green and chocolate overtones | High |
| "South Sea Pearls" |
|
Large 1o - 22 | Round | Deep rich | The most expensive |
| "Cortez" |
|
8- 12 |
|
Has extraordinary color tints | Expensive |
| "Kasumi" |
|
15-20 |
|
Incredibly iridescent and iridescent | Very dear |
| "Keshi" |
|
4-15 | Irregular shape grain | Strong pearlescent and shine | Price from affordable to expensive |
| "Mabe" |
|
5- 10 | Blister | Good with purple-lilac overtones | Low |
| "Biwa" |
|
6-12 |
|
Beautiful shine close to natural | Inexpensive |
| River, freshwater |
|
Any |
|
Bright | Democratic |
Akoya 
South Seas 
Cortez 
Kasumi 
Keishi 
Mabe 
Biwa 
River How to distinguish real, natural pearls from artificial, fake, costume jewelry: ways to check for authenticity at home
Teeth check Demand for fashion accessory resulted in the appearance of a large number of counterfeits on sale.
To protect yourself from purchasing artificial pearls instead of natural ones, use proven methods to identify the differences:
- A natural mineral is an expensive purchase. Low cost indicates imitation pearls.
- Copies are made from lightweight materials, while the original is made from heavy mother-of-pearl. Therefore, natural stone should have noticeable weight compared to artificial stone.
- Run the stone over the surface of your teeth: the creaking sound indicates the authenticity of the purchase. Absence is a fake.
- Try throwing one of the pebbles of the product: if it bounces back like a ball, it’s real.
- Look at the necklace: natural pearls have different shapes and sizes; during the process of formation in a natural way, they are not similar to each other. The presence of pebbles “one to one” confirms the artificial production of the product.
- Beautiful bright shine - a natural product. Faded stones are fake.
- In real stone, the hole for attaching the thread does not have clear boundaries. In artificial, the separation of layers of mother-of-pearl is clearly visible.
- The sandy and rough structure is inherent only in natural pearls.
- Natural or artificially grown stone is cool even in hot weather. Plastic accepts ambient temperature.
- A real bead gives a soft blue shine, while a synthetic one gives green with pink streaks
Each natural pearl stone is unique in its appearance. When preparing to purchase, study the properties of each type and apply the indicated basic authentication methods. To determine the naturalness of an expensive accessory, it is better to contact a professional, since primary skills do not always give a 100% correct determination.
Video: Pearl. How to distinguish real from fake?
Pearl jewelry is always in trend, and every fashionista should have one in her collection. Beads have special energy and can attract good luck, love and joy. But only natural pearls have such properties, and in order not to get into trouble by buying a fake, it would be useful to learn how to distinguish natural pearls from artificial ones.
Before we talk about determining the authenticity of pearls, we need to understand what types of pearls there are. Thus, natural beads are understood to be beads of organic origin, which are formed exclusively in a mollusk shell, in contrast to fake ones. Please note that it is absolutely not important how the speck got inside it, which became the basis of the future bead. In the 21st century, pearls are obtained on special farms that breed mollusks and manually insert specks or small beads into the shells, which after a few years turn into unique pearls. In terms of their properties, cultured beads are not inferior to the so-called wild pearls.
Jewelry made from natural pearls has always been valued by lovers of beauty.
Depending on the place of origin, river pearls, sea pearls, and a special variety called Aikoya differ. which is mined in the seas near the Japanese islands. They differ in size, shape, depth of shine and color. Thus, the rarest and most expensive are blue beads, followed by pink and black ones. And the most common are beige and milky pearls.
Beads cost
The pricing range for pearl jewelry is quite wide; the cost of a rare necklace with history can reach several million dollars, while in online stores you can find a string of pearls for a few dollars. Natural pearls cannot cost less than $20, and even then for that kind of money you will only be offered a thin string of river pearls. And here are large sea pearls unusual color will cost you about 10 thousand dollars.
Anything that costs less is imitation pearls.
External parameters
One of the options for checking whether a pearl is real or not is to inspect the bead. Natural pearls of organic origin will never be in perfect shape. Over the course of many years, the mollusk envelops a grain of sand in layers of mother-of-pearl, so each bead is unique and has its own pattern. If the bead is even and smooth, most likely this is a product artificially created from plastic, glass, or paraffin. Launch any pearl over a flat surface; a natural one will slowly turn over, while a fake one will roll away in a matter of seconds.
You can even notice the shape of the beads in the photo. If the thread is uneven, the pearls themselves will be somewhat oblong or asymmetrical in shape, then you have natural pearls.
By the way, it is now more than possible to find pearls of almost ideal shape, since the owners of shellfish farms have studied where exactly the speck needs to be placed in order to form round bead. But distinguishing feature Such a product, given its rarity, is overpriced.
A good way to tell if a pearl is real or fake is to hold the bead up to the light.. If you notice a gentle glow and you can see your reflection on the surface, then this is an original. Artificial product will fade somewhat, its reflection will be dull. By the way, shine is one of the main criteria by which a pearl is evaluated. When exposed to the rays of the sun, the bead should play from transparent to bluish, casting all the colors of the rainbow when turned over. But black pearls are an exception; they have no shine at all, their peculiarity is precisely in color.
A natural pearl is formed in a mollusk shell
Tactile check
You can check the authenticity of pearls at home by touch:
- Tooth test. Try a bead on your tooth. A natural product should be rough and uneven, whereas an imitation product will slip off.
- Graters. For this experiment you will need two beads; you need to rub them against each other. If you still have pollen or grains of sand on your fingers, congratulations, as pearls are natural. The fake will either slide against one another, or you will have remnants of the mother-of-pearl coating that covered the plastic bead on your hands.
- Heat dissipation. You need to take the bead in your palm and hold it for several minutes. A natural pearl will not change its temperature and will still remain cool, while an artificial pearl will quickly heat up from the warmth of your hand.
- Weight. The first suspicions about the authenticity of the stones may arise as soon as you pick up the jewelry. Natural pearls are quite weighty, so the average weight of one bead ranges from 50 to 200 milligrams; a string of 40 medium-sized pearls will weigh at least 40 grams. The cost of the product is directly related to the mass parameters, that is, the heavier the pearl, the more expensive it is.
Detailed inspection
A proven way to identify real pearls is to look at the hole in the bead under a magnifying glass. The structure of the bead itself is heterogeneous, multi-spherical. in the center a grain of sand or another body should be visible, around which layer after layer of mother-of-pearl was gradually applied. Faux pearls will not have such layers. The structure is homogeneous, and on top you can discern a layer of mother-of-pearl varnish applied.
As for the hole itself and its edges, after a short period of use of the product, artificial pearls will crumble and wear out, while natural pearls are durable.
Types of natural pearls
Home laboratory
You can also check the authenticity of a pearl experimentally:
- If you drop a bead on the floor, it will definitely bounce off the surface, whereas an artificial bead will simply roll.
- Please note that natural jewelry, after a short stay in salt water, will shine with redoubled force, while imitation jewelry will not react to this procedure in any way.
- Take a knitting needle and scratch the pearl a little. Then wipe the surface with a piece of felt. The way the pearls look after all the manipulations can tell whether they are genuine or fake. If the scratch remains, you have artificial pearls in front of you.
- You can check the authenticity of pearls with a bite or a glass of wine. Place the bead in this liquid, and after a few days you will be able to ascertain its loss. Genuine pearls will completely dissolve in an acidic environment, while fake pearls will not change at all.
- To identify a fake, you need to press on the bead. Such strength exercises will not harm a natural pearl, but a glass fake will crumble into small pieces.
It is not advisable to judge the authenticity of pearl jewelry based on one selected criterion. It is important to take into account several parameters; remember that a quality product cannot cost a penny. When choosing jewelry on websites or in jewelry stores, ask for a quality certificate, which will indicate the origin of the pearl and its parameters. Remember that beads large sizes, more than 200 milligrams in weight are obtained exclusively in marine areas. Freshwater pearls with a pleasant pricing policy will be about 5 milligrams.
