A Real Pearl

What are real pearls.

A real pearl.

A pearlis a hard glistening object produced within the soft tissue specifically the mantle of a living shelledmolluskor another animal such as fossil conulariids. It s worth noting that almost all pearls on the market today are cultured. This is because it has small ridges on its surface. 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 substantial and solid. A real pearl has a unique pearl luster and a natural rough feel. The drill hole test. Stringing on cotton or twine with or without knots isn t a good omen.

These pearls are created the old fashioned way but with a little assistance from man. Note the very large perfectly formed pearls but cheap clasp. You should be feeling the weight of the pearl when you hold it in your hands. They are the largest and most valuable pearls grown today with average sizes ranging from 10 to 15 millimeters.

Here s an example of an imitation necklace. You may want to brush your teeth before attempting this test to make sure they re clean. South sea pearls are often referred to as the rolls royce of pearls. There are many varieties of cultured pearls including freshwater saltwater tahitian and south sea pearls.

A cultured pearl is a real pearl grown in a shellfish or mollusk. If you grab a real pearl necklace in one hand and a faux pearl necklace with the same amount of gems in the other more often than not the real pearls will feel heavier. Fake pearls are often very light especially plastic or ceramic ones while glass pearls often feel heavier than real pearls. Real pearls are heavier than fake pearls one of the very first differences between real and fake pearls is no other than their weight.

Fake pearls made from glass or plastic will usually be almost perfectly smooth. Real pearls have like a fingerprint like surface ridges in them so they are not identical or perfectly spherical. Depending on whether human assistance is involved or not this organic gem can either be cultured or natural. Over 99 of the real pearls sold today are cultured pearls.

Another way of telling whether a pearl is real is by checking its luster. A real pearl will usually have a slightly rough or gritty texture from tiny scale like imperfections in its outer layers of nacre. A real pearl is produced by pearl bearing oysters either in fresh or salt water.