Fake, Imitation, Laguna, Faux, Majorica, Majorcan, Swarovski Pearl Photos, Stories

[Incik Boncuk]

Oooh, nice! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[PaulaY]

More Majoricas!

I love, love, love Majorica and have a pretty large collection that I've accumulated mostly over the last 5 or so years. There are so many reasons I love them.

I think a lot of their designs are fantastic, and are something I don't really see in real pearl jewelry. I mostly go for the modern designs, but also have a couple pieces that would be considered more classic.

I love the quality and that they look as if they could be real, but I don't have to worry about getting mugged when I'm wearing them. I live in Chicago so yes, that's a real concern! Not just in pearls, but even in other jewelry I have a lot of "fakes" that are just like my "real" pieces, that I use if I'm out by myself riding the subway, etc.

I also really love the way they are made. In another phase of my life, I was a glass bead maker. While I doubt that all Majorica beads are made on a torch the way they show on their YouTube channel, the fact that it's a possibility resonates with me as a former glass worker.

My Majorica habit is entirely the fault of my husband. In 2000 he went on an overseas business trip. We'd only been married a couple years at that time, and he still felt he needed to bring me a present every time he went somewhere without me. On that particular trip his work kept him busy the entire time so he didn't have a chance to shop and ended up buying me a set of Majorica bracelets from in-flight shopping. I already liked pearls - had some and used FWPs a lot in my jewelry-making - but had never seen or even heard of Majorica. I fell in love.

I wore those bracelets a lot for a few years. So much so that the elastic has gotten stretched, especially on the white one. I haven't worn them in years, only because I tend not to wear bracelets much any more. I got them out again shortly after I joined this forum and was really impressed with the colors on the darker pearls. Most of my Majorica pieces are white beads, so I don't know if the current darker pieces show this amount of color variation.

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I love these!! Please, tell me where I can find them?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Vintage / discontinued / pre-owned Majorica items are commonly sold on eBay but you may have to set up a "saved search" for the specific item you want to find.

 

[JillM]

I've seen quite a few Majorica pieces on Etsy as well.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

If the bead ends are glued on, perhaps you could remove them with solvent in order to re-use them?

That's a good idea, Pearl Dreams. It hadn't occurred to me! They are glued on.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

I love these!! Please, tell me where I can find them?

I have searched for them online several times with no luck. (I was looking for a photo I could use in my Pinterest archive of all my Majorica.) They are 20 years old and I'm wondering if maybe they weren't widely distributed since they were purchased from SkyMall? Not really sure about that. But I would think that if they are to be found at all, it would probably be on eBay or Etsy.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Some of my Majorica rings.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Some more of my Majorica rings.

 

[CortezPearls]

A new brand of Faux Perles has appeared recently. Don't know if they will pass the test of time, but they produce glass beads coated with a pearl-like lacquer and call themselves "Vegan Pearls". The brand is "Vellva", based in the UK.

• Mostly baroque shapes! Love this.
• They also see themselves as genderless...and the cruelty free part is the one that just doesn't stick with me. I owned a pearl farm...there is no cruelty anywhere.
• Guess they want to apply the same ideas they have about 21st Century large, land-based animal husbandry to something that is entirely different.

Some pics from their site!

 

[pearlescence]

I've never heard of them. But they appear not to have heard of UK consumer law. (eg - sell remotely you must give a snail address)

 

[BrendaKY]

Some of us want a place to share photos and stories of various man-made pearl-lookalikes, so let's put them here. This can be helpful for comparison and educational purposes, examples of jewelry, vintage or new, which are not cultured or natural pearls. I'll be taking some photos soon!

Can someone help me identify these pearls? They are gritty when I rub on my teeth so believe they are definitely real pearls. They have such a pretty luster could they be Akoya? Or just freshwater pearls? And Pattye thank you so much for the items I purchased from you. Especially the extra fine needles!

 

[jshepherd]

Can someone help me identify these pearls? They are gritty when I rub on my teeth so believe they are definitely real pearls. They have such a pretty luster could they be Akoya? Or just freshwater pearls? And Pattye thank you so much for the items I purchased from you. Especially the extra fine needles!

These are genuine Chinese freshwater pearls and the color is natural.

 

[pattye]

BrendyKY, these are some lovely pearls! Thanks so much for your knotting supply orders! Freshwater cultured pearls have come a long way!

 

[BrendaKY]

These are genuine Chinese freshwater pearls and the color is natural.

Thank you very much for identifying. I really appreciate your help. I purchased this necklace in an auction with several items got the entire package for $40.00. This 3 piece set was also in the pack. It is labeled s/s RD ENH peacock cult fwp 3 piece set. The clasps are all marked 925. I know that means sterling silver. Can you tell me what the RD ENH means? I am just a beginner with knotting and learning about all the pearl types. I have no idea what they are all worth but I think I got my money’s worth with just these items. I love the Pearl Guide web site and look forward to reading all the information provided. Thank again to everyone.

 

[jshepherd]

This is a strand of dyed Chinese freshwater pearls. You did really well for $40!

"s/s RD ENH peacock cult fwp 3 piece set" probably means Sterling Silver, Round Enhanced peacock cultured freshwater pearl 3 piece set.

The pearls are near round, enhanced (dyed) cultured Chinese freshwater with a silver clasp.

 

[BrendaKY]

Thank you for the information. It never occurred to me that RD means round. I don’t know anything about Chinese fwp. Is there a difference in quality or value across where freshwater pearls are grown? Also thank you for the information on the peacock pearls. My $40.00 purchase was an awesome buy just with these two items!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Could RD refer to rhodium plating over the silver?
These days it seems sterling silver jewelry is usually rhodium plated to prevent tarnishing.

 

[BrendaKY]

Could RD refer to rhodium plating over the silver?
These days it seems sterling silver jewelry is usually rhodium plated to prevent tarnishing.

I will check the clasps again when I get home. I can’t remember for sure but I think the only marking on the clasp was 925. The RD was on the package description

 

[CortezPearls]

Could RD refer to rhodium plating over the silver?
These days it seems sterling silver jewelry is usually rhodium plated to prevent tarnishing.

I agree!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I will check the clasps again when I get home. I can’t remember for sure but I think the only marking on the clasp was 925. The RD was on the package description

I would not expect the mention of rhodium plating to be on the metal, but on the packaging or tag, yes.