There are many varieties of pearl, both real and fake, and it’s not always easy to tell the difference between those that are genuine and those that are imitations. Even amongst genuine pearls there are many different classes of both natural and cultured varieties, all with their own different properties and all valued very differently as pearl jewellery. You don’t want to be fooled when buying pearls, so here are a few ways to help differentiate between a genuine pearl and a fake:

The Tooth Test
Many people say that by rubbing a pearl against your teeth you can tell whether it’s real or fake by the feel of its surface. Genuine pearls usually have a rougher, more irregular texture whereas fakes are glassy and perfectly smooth. This isn’t really the most reliable method of testing, as many fake pearls are created to feel as real as possible and cultured pearls in particular can often be very smooth, especially if they are dyed.

The Sun Test
A slightly more reliable method is to take the pearls out in the sun and take a close look at the appearance of the lustre, or shine, on their surface. Apart from extremely unusual and rare specimens, real pearls hardly ever appear perfectly matched in full daylight and have clear differences in shine, iridescence and colour.

Surface Magnification
Don’t underestimate the power of a magnifying glass – a closeup look at the pearl earrings, necklace or brooch can tell you a lot, and is one of the most effective ways of distinguishing between genuine and fake pearls. Genuine pearls are covered in tiny, almost indistinguishable lines, making it look almost scaly under magnification. It also helps to look closely at the drill holes in the pearl, which in a real pearl will be as tiny as they can be because the gems are valued by their weight. Real pearls usually have holes drilled from either end, so the hole is much smaller in the middle of the pearl.

Shape
One of the most obvious ways to identify real pearl sets is to look closely at the shape of each pearl and whether or not they are close to being identical – real pearls are hardly ever perfectly round, and it is almost unheard of to find a whole string of pearls of exactly the same size, shape and weight. Real pearls that are regular in this way are extremely expensive, and if not they are probably fake.

X-Ray
The only truly reliable way to be sure a pearl is authentic is to pay a certified gemologist to verify it. You can have the pearl x-rayed for a price, allowing you to see inside to any imperfections or variations in density and identifying the nucleus to determine how the pearl was originally formed. To be worth paying the price you need to first be fairly sure that the pearl is genuine, but many imitation pearls look very real and without damaging the pearl it really is the only way to be completely sure.

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