Jewelry Appraisal Center

Pearls come in many shapes and sizes whether they are real or not, and it can be hard to distinguish between the genuine article or a fake. Even amongst genuine pearls there are many different classes of both natural and cultured varieties, all with their own different properties and all valued very differently as pearl jewellery. You don't want to be fooled when buying pearls, so here are some methods you can use to tell the difference between real pearls, whether they are natural or cultured, and fakes

The Tooth Test
It’s said that if you rub a pearl against the biting edge of your front teeth, you can tell whether it’s real or fake by the feel of its surface. Genuine pearls usually have a rougher, more irregular texture whereas fakes are glassy and perfectly smooth. This isn't really the most reliable method of testing, as many fake pearls are created to feel as real as possible and cultured pearls in particular can often be very smooth, especially if they are dyed.

The Sun Test
Another indicator is to take the pearls into full daylight and take a close look at the appearance of the lustre, or shine, that you see on the surface. Apart from extremely unusual and rare specimens, real pearls hardly ever appear perfectly matched in full daylight and have clear differences in shine, iridescence and colour.

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Surface Magnification
Don’t underestimate the power of a magnifying glass – a closeup look at the pearl earrings, necklace or brooch can tell you a lot, and is one of the most effective ways of distinguishing between genuine and fake pearls. Genuine pearls are covered in tiny, almost indistinguishable lines, making it look almost scaly under magnification. Whilst there you could also take a look at the small drill holes at either end of the pearl, which are normally as small as possible in a real pearl as the gems are valued by their weight. The holes are usually drilled from both ends and meet in the middle, making the passage narrower at the centre of the pearl.

Shape
One of the most obvious ways to identify real pearl sets is to look closely at the shape of each pearl and whether or not they are close to being identical – real pearls are hardly ever perfectly round, and it is almost unheard of to find a whole string of pearls of exactly the same size, shape and weight. Those which are will be very expensive, or they are more than likely imitations.

X-Ray
The best way to be absolutely positive of a pearl's authenticiety is to have it verified and certified by a qualified gemologist. You can have the pearl x-rayed for a price, showing any variations in density and identifying the nucleus to determine how the pearl was originally formed. You need to be pretty certain that the pearl is real before paying the price for a validation, but many imitation pearls look very real and it’s the only way to really be 100% sure without damaging the pearl.

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