Pearl jewelry is valuable and beautiful. However, since ancient times, people have been trying their best to create fake gemstones. Hence, these days, the market of gems and jewellery is full of imitations and counterfeits. This is also applicable in the case of pearl jewellery.

Before, pearls could only be found in the wild and hence, were very rare. However, today, technology can create various types of fake pearls that look similar to the real ones, which means that in many cases, you may end up buying fake pearls instead of real ones. Thus, it is really important to know the ways to find out which one is the real pearl to avoid making the mistake of investing in the fake ones.

Is Your Pearl The Real Deal? Here's How To Tell

Have you ever bought a pearl necklace or bracelet, only to learn that it was made of fake pearls? If so, you know how disappointing this can be—especially if you paid a lot of money! But did you know that not all pearls are naturally white? Real pearls can come in shades of pink, rose and even black! If you want to make sure the pearl jewelry is real, here are some tips to help you identify it as authentic.

· Try to feel the weight

Normally, real pearls are heavier than fake ones. So, gently toss them up and down in your hand and try to feel the weight of the pearl. You can try this method to examine those fake pearls that are made from coated plastic beads or glass.

However, an exceptional case of this test is in the case of those pearls that are made of solid glass beads. Those fake pearls weigh much heavier than cultured or natural pearls.

· Check the surface of the pearl

Both cultured and natural pearls have a textured surface because of their layered nacre structure. Hence, while rubbing the pearls of your pearl jewelry on your front teeth or against each other, they will feel a little gritty. In contrast, imitation or fake pearls usually have a glassy or smooth feel.

· Search for little irregularities

While examining real pearls under a magnifying glass, you will see some little ridges and irregularities on each surface of the pearl. In the case of cultured pearls, you can see small differences between them, even if they are well-matched and top-quality gems. However, if you notice that the pearls are identical in terms of size, shape, surface texture, and colours, then they are most probably not real.

Moreover, natural and cultured pearls light a little differently from fake beads. A fake pearl’s luster has an unnatural and glassy look.

· Try to feel the temperature

Another crucial way to examine real pearl jewelry is to touch the pearl beads to feel the temperature. Usually, real pearls are cold to touch for the first several seconds; after that, they may warm up against your skin. However, the fake pearl beads that are made of plastic have a temperature similar to room temperature, and hence, you cannot feel the coldness while touching them.

However, the fake pearl beads that are made of glass can be cool to touch at first, but they usually take more time to warm up against your touch than the real pearl beads.

· See the shape carefully

In most cases, real pearls are hardly round. They can be in various shapes, including button, oval, circled, near-round, drop, and many more. Generally, round pearls have a higher price than pearls of other shapes. However, even in an expensive pearl necklace that has round pearls, you can still find some irregularities in its pearl shapes.  So, if you find a piece of pearl jewelry that has identical pearls, then the pearls are probably fake.

Conclusion

It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it comes to pearls, the imitation doesn’t come close to looking real or feeling as nice as the real thing. The problem with fakes, however, can be figuring out exactly how they differ from their real counterparts. Hopefully, this guide helped you with tips that you can make use of to check if your pearl jewelry is real.