How to distinguish real pearls from artificial ones?

A favorite stone of many connoisseurs of beauty is delicate pearls. It is often used to make beautiful jewelry. However, it is not always the case that a stone passed off as natural pearls turns out to be real. There are many fakes on sale that are not so easy to identify at first glance. Today we will look at how you can distinguish natural pearls from a well-made copy.

Jewelry made from natural pearls are luxury and expensive. This beautiful stone is subdivided into several varieties., each of which has its own characteristics.

Let's get acquainted with them.

• Sea pearls. This stone of wondrous beauty has an ideal rounded shape and an attractive luster. The life cycle of this beauty is on average 10 years. In the shell, the stone matures over several years. One shell can form from 1 to 3 pearls.

After a short time interval, sea stones begin to slowly lose their brightness and characteristic shine, as the thin nacreous layer begins to wear off. The color of such pearls is not only white, but also brighter, and even coarse black.

• Freshwater. Pearls of this type are obtained from molluscs that live in rivers and lakes. The number of pearlescent stones in one shell can vary from 12 to 16 pieces. They have a dull color, their shine is not striking, being muted.The shape of these pearls can vary greatly.

There are not only rounded, but also oval variants (they are the most common). These stones are resistant to abrasion because their mother-of-pearl layer is deeper and denser. The shade of the layer is most often milky. River pearls are never pink or black.

Since the cost of wild pearls is quite significant, natural cultured stone can be used as an alternative.

The processes for the formation of wild stones and the cultivation of their analogs are identical to each other. The only difference is that in one case, the appearance of a pearl is provoked by alien individuals from the outside, and in the other - by a person.

There are several types of fake stones, made by man and passed off as a natural wild product.

Consider several types of cultured pearls that are most often used to imitate a real stone.

So, the most famous pearl of artificial origin is Majorica. This type of stone is rightfully recognized as one of the most spectacular and beautiful. This type is very common.

Otherwise it is called "orchid". They have been making such beauty on the famous island of Mallorca for 120 years. These stones are based on porcelain or alabaster balls. Finished beads are difficult to distinguish from wild pearls.

There are also Parisian and Venetian types of pearls. The technologies for their production have been developed for a long time. Make french pebbles blown glass filled with wax or paraffin of the desired color.

Venetian technology has much in common with the method of making beautiful French pearls, therefore it is relevant and in demand no less. With this method, balls are also made of blown glass, but with the introduction wax and special pearl dust.

The most modern copies of natural pearls are stones made using a special shell technology. It was developed in the USA, but managed to become famous in all countries of the world. In accordance with it, lacquer layers consisting of polymer elements and mica, titanium oxide and carbonic lead are applied to the mother-of-pearl ball.

Looks beautiful and natural roman pearls. It is made from hollow glass parts filled with paraffin.

The method of creating such stones was invented back in the Middle Ages, but at that time the method of work was more crude. A little later, special essences from fish scales were used to cover the bases.

Thanks to this technique, the appearance of artificial pearls becomes more attractive and noble. Properly crafted Roman stones cannot be easily distinguished from natural pearls.

Imitation pearls can also be found on sale. made of plastic... Such details are most often used to complement various jewelry items.

You can distinguish an artificially derived stone from a natural one yourself. This can be done at home without unnecessary costs and unnecessary waste of time. Consider what methods of determining the naturalness of pearls exist.

First of all, when checking the quality of a stone, people rely on visual inspection methods. During these procedures, it is required to evaluate some of the appearance factors related to the stone.

Gotta look closely at the shape, surface finish and weight of the pearl product.

Pearls are slightly elongated, elliptical, ovoid and even pear-shaped. As for stones with a perfectly round cross-section, they are not found as often as many people think. Basically, they are complemented by rings and earrings. Most often these are cultivated gems.

Perfectly shaped wild pearls are very expensive. It is often auctioned, as are luxury large diamonds.

The shade of the beads can be white, pink, yellowish, silver, green, blue, purple or black.

The further the color is from white, the brighter the color of the product will be, and the more expensive it will cost.

In addition, specks with shine will be noticeable on it. The mineral of natural origin is characterized by a non-uniform color. By this factor, you can also determine the naturalness of the stone - the color of a fake pearl will always be uniform.

If there is a reaming on the bead, then it is worth looking under a magnifying glass at the edges that are located near the hole made. If a darker nucleolus is visible there, then the stone is a fake.

In addition, you can see small scratches in the paint or smudges near the hole. You should use a magnifying glass to distinguish between the specks that are on the dye.

In a similar way, they imitate a spectacular black sea pearl, which is one of the most valuable. In this way, more expensive sea pearls are made from cheap river stones.

Pay attention to the weight pearls. This is the easiest way to check prefabricated items such as beads, necklaces or bracelets. They should not be the lightest and have an impressive mass, because pearls are a rather heavy mineral. The more stones on the thread, the heavier the whole decoration will be.

If you pick up plastic jewelry, they will be very light, especially in comparison with natural minerals. Glass beads will also be much lighter in weight.

To check if the stone is real or fake, this method is used very often. It is based on the mechanical properties of pearls. It is a fairly dense substance, the hardness level of which reaches 4 Moss units. Low hardness values ​​allow you to check the stone "for a tooth".

The main disadvantage of this method is that the experiment can be carried out exclusively at home, already on the purchased item. In a jewelry store, you will not be allowed to carry out such manipulations.

There is another mechanical method - friction. The beads must be gently rubbed against each other. As a result, a little pearlescent powder will appear.

You can check pearls on strength... Drop the bead onto a hard surface. If the material is natural, not very large impact marks will remain on it, for example, dents or scratches. Damage noticed on natural stone can be easily smoothed out with your finger.

On glass or plastic parts, most likely, no defects will remain. Besides, plastic items will bounce off a hard surface like a ball. This cannot be the case with pearls.

These methods of verifying the origin of pearls are based on certain chemical properties of the mineral. For example, real pearls have low thermal conductivity - they heat up very slowly, like most other natural stones.

If there is even the slightest doubt about the authenticity of the thing chosen, you can negotiate with a familiar radiologist. He will allow the accessory to be placed in the X-ray machine. This method can be carried out only with respect to one bead, and not all at once, because under irradiation conditions these elements can turn black. The snapshot taken will make it possible to understand what the internal structure of the material is: the number of layers, the level of density, the presence of a core, and other features.

Determine the authenticity of pearls will help vinegar... It is necessary to put a stone in it, and preferably only one, as in the case of the X-ray, since vinegar can quickly dissolve all the beads. If you have "Majorica" ​​in front of you, then after placing it in vinegar, only a simple core of glass will remain from it. There will be no changes with the imitation of plastic or glass.

In this case, it is not the methods of checking stones themselves that are meant. By formal methods, you will insure yourself against deception on the part of the seller.

The main factor to look out for is this is cost of goods. A natural product will definitely be expensive. Even those minerals that are not particularly valuable will not cost less than a few thousand rubles. This is very important to consider. If you are offered something cheaper, then most likely it will be a plastic or glass product.

When purchasing such an accessory, it is advisable to request quality certificate and familiarize yourself with it in detail. This way you will protect yourself from buying fake items.

You can find out whether the stone is natural in front of you by contacting specialists. True, this can be done with an already purchased accessory. So you can be sure that you bought a natural thing or find out that it is not.

If you decide to purchase a pearl jewelry in a jewelry salon, then when choosing it, you will need to determine the naturalness of the stone. Consider the following parameters in order to choose a quality accessory.

• Pay attention to the cost. As mentioned above, natural stone won't be too cheap.
• Hold the jewelry in your hands. If it seems too easy to you, then you should not take it - it is fake. Real pearls have an impressive weight. It is difficult to confuse it with plastic or glass in terms of weight.
• Take a closer look at the shape of the pearls... They must be of different shapes and sizes. There can be no absolutely identical stones in a necklace or bracelet if the accessories are made of natural mineral.
• Pay attention to the shine of the decoration. Natural stone shines beautifully and brightly. If the pearls are faded, then this is a fake.
• Examine the surface of the selected product... Natural stones will be rough.
• Hold the thing in your hands. If it immediately heats up and becomes warm, it will mean that an artificial mineral was used in its manufacture.Real pearl jewelry will only be cold.
• Be sure to request a quality certificate for the selected product, even if the thing looks perfect and there is no doubt about its naturalness.

For expert advice on what to look for when choosing pearl jewelry, see the following video.