What Does A Real Pearl Necklace Look Like

One thing you can do to determine if a pearl is real or fake is to detect the weight.

What does a real pearl necklace look like.

Look for clues around the drill hole. Not every pearl will be the same size. If you look very closely at them even under a magnifying glass you will notice these surface ridges and the specific quality to each pearl whereas fake pearls they all of them look identical and have smooth surfaces. Real pearls are more likely to have settings of gold silver or platinum.

Also look for chipped paint or coating around the hole. Real pearls have like a fingerprint like surface ridges in them so they are not identical or perfectly spherical. Real pearls will often show evidence of a nucleus. Real pearls are made by nature so there should be some variation in size.

You may not be able to hold the pearls alone. If you place a natural pearl against a dark background like a box lined in black cloth and put it under a strong light the natural pearl will look like a small white homogenous ball with no discernible inner rings. Look for onion skin. But there are clues.

To find it look carefully between two pearls at a drill hole. Pearl size get out your ruler and measure the diameter of the largest pearls on the necklace. Method 2 of 3. A set of real pearls should feel hefty in your hand.

Even with a photograph. Imitation or simulated pearls often have rough or rounded edges. Examine the drill hole with a magnifying glass. Are they real pearls.

Look around the pearl drill hole. Even so the setting can provide clues to help you reach a conclusion. From a description alone it s not possible to say with certainty whether a necklace is real or imitation. Pearls strung along a strand will have holes drilled for the silk string to pass through.

If you notice any paint is missing or if the material from inside the pearl formed a burr when the pearl was drilled your pearls are probably fake. Some fakes have high quality settings and some genuine pearls have cheap settings. Real pearls will have a drill hole that is quite smooth and doesn t show any chipping unless it has been mishandled. Pearls on a strand or necklace will usually have holes drilled in them for the string to pass through.

When you do the same to a cultured pearl you will see a thin brown line between the nacre layer and the nucleus of the pearl. In the 1950 s 60 s and 70 s a typical size for cultured pearls was 4mm to 6mm. Examining this hole carefully can help you tell whether your pearl is real or not. A real pearl will have well defined edges like a hollow cylinder.

In a finished necklace or bracelet real pearls are more likely than faux to have knots between each pearl. A string of pearls is likely fake if every pearl appears like a tiny ball.