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| HOME : FORUM : EDUCATION : DIAMONDS : how do you check if your pearls are real? |
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Post#1 @
04-04-02
, 01:35 PM
just curious... i'm sure most of us here are pearl lovers too... how do you check if they are real? i do it by biting on it and if it feels sandy to the teeth, i know it is real. how about you? |
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Post#2 @
04-04-02
, 01:51 PM
Are you talking about Natural vs Cultured pearls? Natural and cultured pearls distinguish themselves through their inner structure. You would need to take it to an expert so that they can examine the inner structure. |
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Post#3 @
04-04-02
, 03:12 PM
Quote:
This is correct, either a x-ray or a microscope with a special attachment can be used to separate cultured from natural. This attachment is a special hollow needle with a mirror end to allow the examination through the hole in the pearl. |
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On a similar subject...
Post#4 @
04-04-02
, 03:16 PM
Hey Gang, Anybody have a preferred/trustworthy vendor for good pearls? I like the americanpearl.com website. Looking for (I think) Japanese Akoya AAA 8mm with silver overtones to make earrings, pendant from. Wedding gift! Brian At WF is working on it for me, but thought I would educate myself a bit more if possible. Thanks, Del |
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Post#5 @
04-04-02
, 03:24 PM
the only way to distinguish between a natural pearl and a cultured pearl is to x-ray the pearl and see if there is the implant used in cultured pearl present. To distinguish between cultured pearl and pearl simulant has become more diificult of late because of the increasing quality and variety of pearl simulants on the market today. I have personally seen how they can now almost exactly duplicate "real" pearl luster in a shell-based pearl strand. The one thing that pearl simulants have not yet been able to achieve is the "tooth test". The way pearls are formed in nature leads to this effect that while the surface LOOKS smooth to the eye, and FEELS smooth to the skin, to gently rub one pearl against the front of your tooth will result in a sandy, gritty feeling. Pearl simulants do not have this effect, rather they are perfectly smooth when rubbed against a tooth, much akin to rubbing a marble against the tooth. Please perform this tooth test GENTLY.  Please do NOT bite the pearl. This does not help you distinguish between a real pearl and a simulant. It merely gives your friendly jeweller the jitters  So far this tooth test remains the most effective and fool proof way of distinguishing between a real pearl and a simulant for the consumer. |
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Post#6 @
04-04-02
, 04:53 PM
No offense but I really think the "tooth test" is an old wives tale. I have a triple strand of pearls that belonged to my grandmother. They are fake but very good fakes and they do not feel smooth at all. The other test people use that I find ridiculous is the "if there is a knot in the string between each pearl" they are real test. In theory if you have knots in between you won't lose any pearls if the string breaks and manufacturers don't bother w/ knots if the pearls are fake and cheap. But again, I have two single strands and the triple strand of my grandmother's and they all have knots in between the pearls. |
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Post#7 @
04-04-02
, 05:19 PM
Tala, You are correct, the way to determine if a pearl is real or not is by bitting very gentle, cultured and natural pearls are both real and they have a scale surface that are feeled very easy with the bite, fake or plastic pearls feels slippery and this is the easiest way to determine if a pearl is real or not. Fake pearls have not imitated yet the micro rugosities of a pearl 
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cost difference in cultured and natural
Post#8 @
04-04-02
, 05:44 PM
okay, I don't have a question on the authentication of the pearl (hmm, I just can't imagine myself at a trendy/expensive store grinding my teeth against a strand of pearls or licking it to test if its real while the sales person no doubt will have a look of horror on his/her face...makes me laugh just thinking about it ).The question I have is whether there is a cost diference between cultured and natural forming pearls. I guess the only way I'll know if its natural forming is if there are irregularities in the shape? But wouldn't cultured ones have irregularities as well since they are still produced by the live oysters? |
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Post#9 @
04-04-02
, 05:50 PM
You know, I always assumed that natural pearls would be more expensive, but I've heard that actually cultured pearls, because they are more popular, are more expensive. |
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Post#10 @
04-04-02
, 07:19 PM
I've always heard that natural pearls are more expensive. :< Hmm. And, the tooth test is how I tested out my pearl ring! - I'll mention that I should avoid Disney World at all costs until they get rid of their Pearl booth. That thing is addictive. For $12.99 (I think), you could pick an oyster and open it up, and get the random pearl/pearls that were inside it. |
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Re: On a similar subject...
Post#11 @
04-04-02
, 07:28 PM
Quote:
Well, Jan and Brad got me some fantastic Akoya pearls-necklace and earrings. I also bought some Mikimoto pearl earrings on ebay and got cultured and freshwater pearls from (two different) local jewelers. The freshwater pearls, which were by far the cheapest, are quite gorgeous. They are a pale apricot color which happens to look fantastic against my (very pale and pink-toned) skin. Jan and Brad gave me the best price. Have you read "Cultured Pearls: The First Hundred years"? That started my education .AGBF |
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Post#12 @
04-04-02
, 09:10 PM
Quote:
You assumed right, natural pearls are several times more expensive than cultured pearls and is simple, natural pearls are very rare. A pearl is the nacar covered object placed inside an oyster as a extrange object that the oyster can't expulse and this can be an implant in the bottom in the case of the cultured round pearls or the implant of several half pearls in the valva of the top and lower shell. A natural pearl is the result of a strange object like a sand grain that entered into the oyster and the oyster can't expulse and covers with nacar until it forms a pearl. Irregularities in the pearl are not caused by the fact that a pearl is natural or cultivated but by the variety of the oyster, the "Pinctada" oyster variety produces the most perfect and round pearls, the Pinctada Mazatlanica is a Mexican oyster that pruduces the black, bronze, and grey pearls in the Baja California Gulf. Other varieties of Pincatada exist in Australia and in the Pacific. |
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Post#13 @
04-04-02
, 10:08 PM
Thanks Juan. I wonder if it's just lumpy baroque pearls that are cheaper than cultured pearls, but perfect round natural pearls would be more expensive? I actually like the baroque pearls more than nice cultured pearls. I like cultured pearls, but they have a touch of artificiality to them that to me ranks them below lumpy natural pearls. |
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Post#14 @
04-04-02
, 10:13 PM
There are some simulated pearls that do give a rough reaction to the tooth test. Some of the newer generation of Majorica Simulated pearls give a somewhat gritty reation to the tooth scratch test. That is right, you a giving the pearl a slight scratch with your tooth, it's a hardnes test. A reliable, but more difficult test to identify cultured pearls from simulated is to magnify down the drill hole and look for the separation between the nacre (pearly coating) from the nucleus (usually a mother of pearl bead). On salt water, cultured pearls this separation line is the conchiolin layer (animal protein) and is usually darker than the bead or nacre. This observation also shows you the nacre thickness and is useful in grading the quality of cultured pearls. This test will not work on freshwater cultured pearls as they have no nucleus. One other test for saltwater cultured pearls is a preliminary test I use to separate natural from cultured pearls. In average to lower quality cultured pearls, you may be able to see the layers within the mother of pearl bead. This is done by "candling" the pearl, that is shining a bright light through the pearl. Much like a farmer might look into an egg without having to crack it open. By candling a cultured pearl you may be able to deduct if there is a nucleus. If one is present, it's not natural and posibly not a simulant since there is no need to start with a mother of pearl bead (on glass and plastic imitations) though they do sell mother of pearl beads as strands, and these will test as pearl with the teeth but look like mother of pearl beads rather than pearls. |
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Re: how do you check if your pearls are real?
Ok well my mother bought some pearls and i wanted to know how you can tell if they are fake or not . Well ive researched it and most say rub it on the face of your tooth . But i bit one ane it left a mark . Are pearls supposed to leave a mark?  Quote:
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