How to distinguish between real and faux pearls

[Gold99]

I've got a "bunch" of pearls. Real ones are mixed with fake ones and I'd want to ask you some help to distinguish between these 2 groups because I'm going to sell them all one by one.
Afaik a quite good way to say if a pearl is genuine is to rub it against my tooth and if it feels gritty is real while if it feels very smooth is just plastic but I guess a fake pearl could be coated with shell powder or treated in other ways to make it feel as gritty as a real one though it's fake; so how to definitely identify the real ones for sure?

A last but not least matter for me is the price to sell the "problematic" pearls at, I mean though I can identify a real pearl but I've got no certification and I want to sell it on the web I guess nobody will pay for an unknown-maybe-real pearl. Is there a way to "officially" certificate a pearl is real? Eg. if I bring an akita/mayumi/yukiko pearl whose I missed its certification to a jeweler, could him give me this kind of certification with his stamp? Must he be an akita/mayumi/yukiko authorized dealer?

#1

Very smooth at my teeth. I say plastic.

#2

Idem to #1: plastic, moreover there's no silver stamp on the metal, finally I'd say the "diamonds" are made in plastic as well.

#3

Idem to the previous 2 ones: plastic at my teeth. The metal is 925 sterling silver because of the stamp. I'd like to know something about the little "diamonds", I mean if they're real or fake, and what could be the value of this pendant with silver chain.

#4

It's mounted on "poor" metal, I mean neither silver nor gold and it's easy to say the "diamonds" are made of plastic so I'd say pearls are 99% fake but they feel quite gritty at my teeth in contrast to the previous 3 cases. What do you think?

#5

They feel very gritty at my teeth. The clasp is not silver and some of them are ruined (peeled off). They look quite similar to these artificial ones. What's your judgement?

Thank you in advance for your opinions and suggestions.

 

[pearlsngems]

1, 2 and 3 imitation. Likely the "diamonds" are rhinestones (glass) or possibly cubic zirconia (CZ) in the case of #3.

4. The pearls look like solid nacre cultured freshwater pearls, but they do not have high value. The piece itself is pretty and may sell to someone who likes the look of it.

5. Low quality cultured freshwater pearls. Value very low. The dark ones are dyed.

None of these are likely to sell for much, I'm afraid. Is it worth the effort to list them? It might be better to donate them (I would) or sell them as a lot.

 

[Bron357]

Another way to sort “good from not good” is the metal content of the finding ie clasp / pendant bale, earring back.
Better quality pearls will be set in gold otr platinum, lower quality in 925 Sterling and costume jewellery quality will be in base metal ie no hallmarks anywhere.
Unfortunately pearls are a bit out of favor so pre loved pearls aren’t great sellers. Rings and earrings are most in demand, however strands and brooches not so much.

 

[Gold99]

It might be better to donate them

Yes, this was my idea in the case their value'd has been too low. I've to sell other "important" pearls and I think I'll give #1, #2 and #3 as presents.

Do you think 20 euros (=20USD) will be a honest selling price for the brooch #4? My main doubt about that remains how to demonstrate they're "solid nacre cultured freshwater pearls" and not just imitations as #1, #2 and #3 on a web sale. Any ideas?

Is there any way to aesthetically camouflage the peeled off pearls in strand #5? Don't take me as a crazy but what if I try to pair those gapes using a very fine sand paper? Is there a way to get the cultured freshwater pearls' layers in pair? In this case the advantage is the pearls are irregular so I guess it won't be noticed imho.

 

[pearlsngems]

I would describe the pearls in the brooch simply as "cultured freshwater pearls". They are a very common shape and anyone who shops for pearls would recognize them as such. There is no way to demonstrate that they are genuine FW pearls.

As to setting a price-- I usually recommend to people that they search online (eBay etc.) for similar, sold items. Sold, because that shows you what people have actually been willing to pay for a similar item. Base your price on that.

There is no way to fix the pearls in #5. Sandpaper will not improve them. They are what they are.

 

[pearlsngems]

About the brooch...is there the word "Swoboda" stamped on it? I'm seeing a number of Swoboda items on eBay that have a similar vibe. They seem to achieve good prices.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

the brooch is very pretty even if its just a costume piece
just because a piece is faux doesn't mean its worthless
its just a matter of finding a buyer
good luck

 

[Gold99]

Thank you, I'm learning so much from this forum.

I could see no stamp/mark on the brooch. I've found it within a "victoria townsed" box but I doubt very much the brooch was made by this brand.
I've just tried to make a reverse image search and... surprise: this brooch is already listed on the web here and... other surprise: its value is 515 rubles = 8.6 euros *but* I think I'll try to sell it for 15-20 euros, you can never know.

I'm quite disappointed about the black&white pearls strand because I guessed its value was much higher, the highest of this group of pearls, anyway I'll try to sell it apart for now and hope to find the right buyer as Daisys said

 

[pearlsngems]

For comparison, here is an example of a necklace of white, dyed black and dyed gray ringed freshwater pearls that sold in June on eBay for $41.21 (best offer).

HONORA FRESHWATER PEARL GRADUATED RINGED PEARL NECKLACE 18" TUXEDO NECKLACE NEW | eBay

<p>New in packing. Graduated up to 9mm in size - Please see the pictures.</p><br><p>I do my best to take a lot of pictures, so please consider them as part of the description. Please check my feedback and purchase with confidence. As with all my items I use best offer or buy it now. Many of...

www.ebay.com

1. They are a respected brand (Honora)
2. They are new with tags
3. They have very good luster and surface
4. The clasp is sterling silver
5. Shipping was free.

Even with all those positive things going for it, the necklace only sold for $41.