How to identify real pearls from fake ones?

With knowledge and a little practice, it is possible to recognize a real pearl within minutes. Some basic tests can help you avoid a scam or know the true value of the pearl necklace you received as a gift or inheritance.

1- The first step you can take is to touch them and feel the temperature. Real pearls are cold to the touch for the first couple of seconds before warming up against your skin. Fake plastic pearls have the same temperature as the room temperature and you don’t feel the coolness when you touch them. However, fake ones that are made of glass beads can be cool to touch to start with, but it tends to take them longer to warm up against your skin than real pearls.

2- Submit the pearl to daylight: check whether the pearl reflects light or whether it remains opaque. In the first case, you are dealing with a real pearl and in the second, there are risks that the pearls are imitation.

3- You can rub the pearls against your teeth. In general, a real pearl feels sandy or gritty while a fake ou faux pearl feels smooth.

4- The simplest method I recommend is to rub two pearls against each other. If the pearls are real, you will feel the roughness. If there is a little mother-of-pearl dust, they are real! When the beads are false, they slip and are very often smooth.

Moreover, real pearls have small impurities, defects visible to the eye. Do not be alarmed is a sign of authenticity.

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