How To Tell A Fake Pearl

He says there is a popular misunderstanding about cultured pearls – that they are somehow not real. He explains that the difference between a natural pearl and a cultured one is simply the nucleus. In the case of a natural pearl, currents in the sea deliver the nucleus of the pearl – a grain of sand, for example. In the case of cultured pearls, the nucleus is inserted by hand. After that, the process is no different; the oyster does the work.

What is true is that there are fake pearls, mostly made from plastic. Khun Amorn offers this guide to telling the difference between real and fake.

• Check the weight of the pearl. A real pearl has some heft to it and is, of course, heavier than a plastic imitation.
• Feel the surface of the pearl. If you gently rub two pearls together and feel a slight grittiness, the pearls are real. If the sensation is smooth, it’s likely the “pearls” are made of plastic.
• Check for natural flaws. All real pearls have flaws because this is a natural process; the likelihood of a real pearl having a perfect shape, for example, is next to nothing. On the other hand, a good pearl should not have too many flaws.
• Sea pearls take time to produce. Some pearl shops may try to fool buyers into paying over the odds by selling them river pearls, which take a much shorter time to produce. Also, a river pearl oyster can produce 50 pearls or more, whereas its marine cousin can produce only one at a time.
• The most difficult scam to detect is pearls made from the dust left over after real pearls are made into jewellery. Using modern technology, this dust can be moulded into a “pearl” that is so like the real thing, with the right weight, luster and even colour, that it takes a professional to tell the difference.

from www.phuket.com