Fans of jewelry are always interested in how to distinguish natural from artificial pearls, because often there is a huge variation in prices. The search for a good product takes a lot of time, and it is especially painful for buyers who are not guided by this type of jewelry to experience it all. How to find out if real pearls will be described in the article.
Pearls
To understand how to distinguish natural from artificial pearls, you need to know about the existence of cultivated and artificial mineral. Natural is a rarity.
People who do not know enough information about this mineral want to understand how to quickly distinguish natural pearls. It will be quite difficult to do this if you do not have sufficient knowledge about the varieties of pearls. All of them are presented below.
"Wild"
Of course, in the struggle of natural pearls against artificial pearls, the first will win. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to find in the modern jewelry market. In the natural environment, as you know, a pearl is formed after a foreign body, for example, a small parasite or a grain of sand, enters the mollusk's body. The formation of stone takes whole years. In their natural form, pearls are rarely found round.
Cultivated
Some tips on how to distinguish real pearls from artificial pearls are given below, but first you need to understand the features of the cultivated mineral. It is obtained in the same way as "wild", but the difference between them is that during cultivation, the implant-stimulus is introduced into the body of the oyster intentionally.
This technology originated in Japan around the 19th century. After conducting as many as 20 experiments, a specialist named Kokichi Mikimoto patented the oyster vaccination method, which is still widely used today.
Artificial
This type of pearl differs from the previous one in that mollusks do not take part in its appearance. These beads are the result of the creation of human hands. It is worth noting that even when the synthetic core is coated with natural pearl, the pearl in any case remains artificial.
The very first fake pearl was created in Rome in the 15th century. Since that time, technologies have been improved, and the artificial mineral is hiding under all kinds of names.
Professionals know exactly how to distinguish natural from artificial pearls, but for beginners it is almost impossible to do this quickly, because skills in this area have to be developed over the years.
Majorca
This variety is one of the most beautiful and common. The pearls of Majorca are sometimes also called Orchid. It has been created for about 120 years on the island of Mallorca, known to everyone. First, a porcelain or alabaster ball is made, and then it is covered with a thin layer of nacre, after which it is additionally treated with cellulose acetate or nitrocellulose to ensure durability.
Finished beads are quite round and velvety, so it’s almost impossible to distinguish them from natural pearls. With artificial lighting, it looks great.
Paris and Venetian
The manufacturing technology of French (Parisian) pearls originated in the early 17th century. It is actively used to this day. Beads are created from blown glass, after which they are filled with wax or colored paraffin.
The Venetian technology is quite similar to the method of making French pearls, so it is no less popular. In this case, the balls are also formed from blown glass, but with the addition of pearl dust and wax.
Shell
This technology is the most advanced. It was developed in the USA and is famous all over the world. Layers of varnish, which consists of a mixture of polymers, as well as mica, titanium oxide and lead carbonate, are applied to the pearl ball.
12 ways to distinguish natural pearls
To date, professionals have developed several methods to help distinguish a natural mineral. After getting acquainted with them, the question of how to distinguish real pearls from artificial pearls will no longer scare beginners.
So, here are the main ways to distinguish a natural product:
- Cost. First of all, you should pay attention to the price of the goods. Low cost for natural pearls is unacceptable, although some scammers may sell and fake more expensive than natural mineral.
- Weight. Natural pearl has more weight, because it consists solely of mother of pearl, but artificial contains lighter materials.
- Test. Since ancient times, a well-known way to distinguish a fake - "try for a tooth." If you draw along the pearl with your teeth, then a natural stone will creak, a fake one will not make a sound. If you already have experience in distinguishing pearls, then you can tap on her teeth - real and artificial will give different sensations.
- Height. When falling from a height of about half a meter, a real stone will bounce off the surface, and artificial pearls will simply fall without movement, due to different densities.
- Mechanics. Owners of a pearl necklace can easily check the stones in it using friction. If you rub a pair of pearls against each other with minimal pressure until a pearl powder is formed, small scratches will remain on the natural one, which will quickly disappear, and the fake will simply wipe off a layer of nacre.
- Comparison In addition to the previous method, the owners of the necklace can check the pearls using comparison. Natural stones are individual and not like everyone else, so the jewelry should not come across the same pearls.
- Search. An interesting way for beginner scientists is to look at the pearl through a microscope. A natural scaly surface will be clearly visible, while a fake one will be uniform.
- Chemistry. If there are several pearls that are not a pity to experiment with, then you can put them first in acetone, and then in vinegar. In the first case, natural stone does not dissolve, but in the second, on the contrary, it disintegrates quite quickly.
- Shine. A real pearl differs from a fake with a uniform and deep shine, which is visible to professionals with the naked eye. If the pearls are dull, then this indicates their artificiality or low quality, so you should not purchase such a product.
- Hole. Carefully you need to consider the place where the hole is drilled. Cracks will not form in a natural pearl, since it has a high density, but a fake will have a lot of chips around the edges.
- Field. Place the pearl in an electromagnetic field, the natural one will remain in a motionless position, and the cultured one will begin to roll. This is due to the fact that inside the fake there is a special ball made of a material that responds to an electromagnetic field.
- Specialist. The most reliable way at any time was to contact a specialist - a gemologist. Using a special translucent apparatus, he will quickly determine the originality and quality of the decoration.
Now it’s known how to distinguish natural from artificial pearls, so you can safely go to the store and purchase decent products that are not ashamed to brag to others.