How to tell if pearls are real?

[elepri]

I impulsively bid on a string of pearls on ebay and won. I got it today and have no idea if they''re even real or plastic. They were described as Akoya cultured pearls and I paid only $20 for it (including shipping and handling). Realizing that you get what you pay for, is it still possible that they''re reall pearls? And how do you tell short of taking it to an appraiser? Thanks.

 

[Nicrez]

Well, short of taking it to an appraiser there are only a few test you can do to determine if they are plastic or pearl. Rub them together and there should be some dust that appears, but no scratches. Also pearl should be cool to the touch (touch to your lips, as they are MOST sensistive to warmth), and plastic should be room temp.

Consider that Akoya are cultured pearls, as are almost every single pearl on the market. You can tell quality of any pearl by how round they are, by how much Irridescence they have (rainbow shine) and even the amount of nacre there is (meaning the pearl excretion that makes up the white parrt of the pearl exterior we see)

Here's a link that can help explain these things a bit better:

http://www.gem.org.au/about/pearlbook.pdf

my guess is that they are Chinese freshwater strand, as Akoya pearls (which are Saltwater) tend to be MUCH more than $20...

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Rub them across the front of your tooth.

Pearls are calcium carbonate, and have a fine "gritty feel" when rubbed across the front surface of your teetch.

Imitations are glass or plastic, both of which slip right across the surface of your tooth.

Plastic feels very light, glass feels very heavy.

If you look at the drill hole with a 10x loupe, you should be able to see the demarcation point between the outer layer of pearl called nacre, and the inner bead used for the cultivation. This outer layer is usually only .25 to .75 mm thick.

Glass has a very thin painted layer visibile at the drill hole, and plastic has that characteristic plastic look.

 

[elepri]

Nicrez and Richard,
Thanks for your advice. It does feel sort of gritty and cold. Guess i should get a loupe now.

 

[diamondlil]

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On 10/19/2004 8:05:24 PM Richard Sherwood wrote:





Rub them across the front of your tooth.

Pearls are calcium carbonate, and have a fine 'gritty feel' when rubbed across the front surface of your teetch.

Imitations are glass or plastic, both of which slip right across the surface of your tooth.


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I had to laugh at this high-tech way of determining if pearls are real. My grandmother told me the same thing about 20 years ago.

I wonder what my local estate dealer will say when I try this in his store.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

DiamondLil, one time I did a quick tooth test on a pearl in front of a male client.

He looked at me for a moment, and said "I'll spare you the knowledge of where that strand last was."

Heh heh heh... Gave me pause.

Now I always scrub a pearl before giving it the tooth test.

 

[canuk-gal]

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On 10/20/2004 7:11:50 PM Richard Sherwood wrote:

DiamondLil, one time I did a quick tooth test on a pearl in front of a male client.

He looked at me for a moment, and said 'I'll spare you the knowledge of where that strand last was.'

Heh heh heh... Gave me pause.

Now I always scrub a pearl before giving it the tooth test.
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HI:

Whew--have many tabloid heiresses' ex-boyfriends as clients Mr. S??

cheers

Sharon

 

[elepri]

Gee thanks, guess i should've cleaned it before the tooth test

I actually took it to the jeweler down the street and he did the same exact test and nicely informed me that the thing was synthetic. What do i know... So i sent it back, now will see if i get my money back too. Guess i shoud've known better about ebay bargains.

 

[Kamuelamom]

Haha, Rich, too funny! Hey, thanks for that explanation. I've always wondered too and even pondered a string of Akoya's once or twice from Overstock.com.