Metallic Pearls or Glass Beads

[Nihal]

Hi,
I bought those tiny FW pearls. To my surprise, they are so lovely pastel metallic colors.

In person, they are soft and light shade with high luster. Their color is not uniform. Best colors changes with movement and light change with iridescent shades.

I wonder if they are real of made of something like glass? After being disappointed in many pearls for their color quality, can this be real?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

There is such a thing as natural metallic luster in pearls. Probably those are freshwater pearls, but if you are in doubt, rub 2 of them together. Gritty feeling = real pearl, smooth feeling = imitation.

 

[StarryPearl]

You could probably get the answer yourself with the help of a loupe. Just check the drill holes.

I tend to think these are freshwaters.

 

[Nihal]

There is such a thing as natural metallic luster in pearls. Probably those are freshwater pearls, but if you are in doubt, rub 2 of them together. Gritty feeling = real pearl, smooth feeling = imitation.

By teeth test, though no experience, they are not sliding on ice. Can this be within the term gritty?

 

[Nihal]

C

You could probably get the answer yourself with the help of a loupe. Just check the drill holes.

I tend to think these are freshwaters.

Can you please explain what I should be using inspecting?
Lately I am trying to figure if inside of a pearl color should within the same color range of its outer nacre. All pearls I have seems white in hole - ps: most dark colors are purple, No Tahitian pearls. I also bought pearls with 9-11mm diameter from the same seller. They have some dust, powder like residue in their own package. I believe they are real FW pearls. Do you mean something like that?

Thank you in advance

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I don't recommend rubbing pearls on teeth any more because teeth are harder than pearls and can scratch them.
Instead I recommend rubbing one pearl against another pearl. Be gentle-- don't rub hard.
Gritty means rough feeling. Scratchy.

Also if you have a jeweler's loupe (this is a 10x magnifier) and you look at a real pearl's surface with the loupe it will look very smooth-- while fake pearls will look more textured, coarser. If you have any other pearls that you are sure are real (or that you are sure are fake) you can compare what you see.
Real pearls look smooth but feel rough.
Fake pearls look rough but feel smooth.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Drill holes can provide these indications of whether pearls are real or fake. But this is mostly if the fake pearls are lower quality.

1. Real pearls tend to have smaller drill holes than fake pearls, because pearls are sold by weight-- so smaller hole means more weight is preserved. However, high end fake pearls can also have small drill holes.
2. Sometimes fake pearls have swirls of excess coating near the drill holes. But better quality fake pearls won't have this.
3. Really cheap fake pearls sometimes have beveled drill holes; real pearls don't.
4. Cheap or older fakes may have some flaking of the imitation pearl coating near the drill hole, with the bead visible where the coating used to be.

Also, when you examine the drill hole of a fake pearl with a loupe, you may see the dividing line between the coating and the glass bead. Freshwater pearls without a bead nucleus won't show any such dividing line because they are solid nacre.

 

[Nihal]

I don't recommend rubbing pearls on teeth any more because teeth are harder than pearls and can scratch them.
Instead I recommend rubbing one pearl against another pearl. Be gentle-- don't rub hard.
Gritty means rough feeling. Scratchy.

Also if you have a jeweler's loupe (this is a 10x magnifier) and you look at s real pearl's surface with the loupe it will look very smooth-- while fake pearls will look more textured, coarser. If you have any other pearls that you are sure are real (or that you are sure are fake) you can compare what you see.
Real pearls look smooth but feel rough.
Fake pearls look rough but feel smooth.

Thanks a lot. Definitely I will compare my pearl necklace bought in-store from a reputed brand.

 

[Nihal]

Thanks a lot. Definitely I will compare my pearl necklace bought in-store from a reputed brand.

Also follow all your advice.

Thanks a lot. Definitely I will compare my pearl necklace bought in-store from a reputed brand.

 

[Nihal]

Drill holes can provide these indications of whether pearls are real or fake. But this is mostly if the fake pearls are lower quality.

1. Real pearls tend to have smaller drill holes than fake pearls, because pearls are sold by weight-- so smaller hole means more weight is preserved. However, high end fake pearls can also have small drill holes.
2. Sometimes fake pearls have swirls of excess coating near the drill holes. But better quality fake pearls won't have this.
3. Really cheap fake pearls sometimes have beveled drill holes; real pearls don't.
4. Cheap or older fakes may have some flaking of the imitation pearl coating near the drill hole, with the bead visible where the coating used to be.

Also, when you examine the drill hole of a fake pearl with a loupe, you may see the dividing line between the coating and the glass bead. Freshwater pearls without a bead nucleus won't show any such dividing line because they are solid nacre.

Those info well summarized here could not be found online. I learnt some bits and that with no clear comparison of ‘possibly real’ vs fake pearls. You explained very clearly with warning about the possibility of high quality pearls. I do appreciate sparing your time for details.