Beautiful pearl jewelry is a great addition to a woman's look. Mother-of-pearl products help emphasize femininity and add elegance. Fashionistas love them, and jewelry stores offer many original products. Moreover, increased demand has long forced manufacturers to use not only natural, but also artificial minerals. We will teach you to understand which one is offered to you.
Different origin - different cost
Natural pearls are quite difficult to obtain. This is due to the process of their formation.
Natural
Several years pass until, with the help of a special substance - mother-of-pearl - a sea or river mollusk turns a foreign body that appears in its shell into a pearl.
Even freshwater mother of pearl (one of the cheapest options) is very expensive, with some necklaces costing up to hundreds of dollars.
Cultured
To increase the volume of mineral produced, people began to cultivate it, that is, to grow it in conditions close to natural.A tiny mother-of-pearl pebble planted by a person is processed, as in the case of natural pearls, by a mollusk shell.
Artificial
Today, in addition to natural and cultured mother-of-pearl, artificial (synthetic) minerals are also used in jewelry production. A synthetic pearl is the work of a man himself, who coats beads made of different materials with a mother-of-pearl emulsion. Factory production is widespread, so the cost of producing such a mineral is much lower. This means that jewelry with it should cost less.
Therefore, the question arises: is it possible to independently understand which mineral is in front of you, natural (including cultivated) or synthetic. Let's say right away: you can!
Important! You should not purchase jewelry and accessories on the street or from unverified sellers, especially at a deep discount. If you want to purchase a real product, it is better to contact a jewelry store with a confirmed certificate and license.
Available methods for determining the naturalness of jewelry
If you want to quickly and efficiently check the authenticity of your purchased jewelry, you can use one of the options below.
- Visually assess the quality of the beads.
Important! Real specimens have an uneven shape, unlike artificial versions.
Look at the pearls, it must have uneven pear- or egg-shaped.
- When visually assessed, you can see an interesting play of colors. Real mother of pearl when a light stream hits it, it begins to shimmer in white, yellow and pink shades.
- High-quality pearls should sparkle in good lighting. When you visually examine it, you can see your reflection on the surface.
- Remove the pearls from the string and look at the hole in the center. It is necessary to evaluate its edges and the course of the channel itself. On real pearls you can see a perfectly smooth channel with clear edges. Outwardly, it will resemble an ideal cylinder with a cavity. In the case of artificial material, an uneven curved channel with rounded edges is noticeable.
- Upon careful examination of the channel, you can find characteristic lines indicating the presence of several layers of pearlescent coating. In the case of this option, you will see a clear border (one line) of the transition of nacre to the core. Fake versions of these lines may have several or none at all.
Since none of the presented criteria can unambiguously indicate the authenticity of a product, it is necessary to take them into account as a whole. Such an assessment will help to most accurately determine the authenticity of the product.
What methods are better not to use to check the naturalness of pearls?
You can often find additional methods for checking the authenticity of pearl jewelry on the Internet. However, not all of them may be suitable.
To the number least effective methods checks that may damage the product, there are several options.
- Testing with fire is a dangerous and ineffective method. Because some types of real pearls can also burn, as well as artificial varieties.
Important! When exposed to fire, pearls become very hot, which can cause burns.
- Quality assessment using teeth and friction. Real pearls should have a rough surface. However with careful polishing, the surface can become smooth, just like artificial options.
- Don't check the jewelry using vinegar. In the case of the genuine version, you will simply lose the decoration, since it dissolves in acetic acid.
And remember: exotic names are not an indicator of the authenticity of the products!
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