Also look for chipped paint or coating around the hole.
What does a real pearl necklace look like.
In the 1950 s 60 s and 70 s a typical size for cultured pearls was 4mm to 6mm.
Examining this hole carefully can help you tell whether your pearl is real or not.
Real pearls are more likely to have settings of gold silver or platinum.
Look around the pearl drill hole.
Real pearls will often show evidence of a nucleus.
If you look very closely at them even under a magnifying glass you will notice these surface ridges and the specific quality to each pearl whereas fake pearls they all of them look identical and have smooth surfaces.
From a description alone it s not possible to say with certainty whether a necklace is real or imitation.
In a finished necklace or bracelet real pearls are more likely than faux to have knots between each pearl.
Not every pearl will be the same size.
Real pearls have like a fingerprint like surface ridges in them so they are not identical or perfectly spherical.
A pearl is a hard glistening object produced within the soft tissue specifically the mantle of a living shelled mollusk or another animal such as fossil conulariids just like the shell of a mollusk a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite in minute crystalline form which has deposited in concentric layers.
A real pearl will have well defined edges like a hollow cylinder.
If you place a natural pearl against a dark background like a box lined in black cloth and put it under a strong light the natural pearl will look like a small white homogenous ball with no discernible inner rings.
Pearls on a strand or necklace will usually have holes drilled in them for the string to pass through.
Even with a photograph.
If you notice any paint is missing or if the material from inside the pearl formed a burr when the pearl was drilled your pearls are probably fake.
One thing you can do to determine if a pearl is real or fake is to detect the weight.
Imitation or simulated pearls often have rough or rounded edges.
A set of real pearls should feel hefty in your hand.
Pearls strung along a strand will have holes drilled for the silk string to pass through.
Method 2 of 3.
Look for onion skin.
Real pearls are made by nature so there should be some variation in size.
Examining pearls by feel.
To find it look carefully between two pearls at a drill hole.
Even so the setting can provide clues to help you reach a conclusion.
Pearl size get out your ruler and measure the diameter of the largest pearls on the necklace.
A string of pearls is likely fake if every pearl appears like a tiny ball.
Real pearls will have a drill hole that is quite smooth and doesn t show any chipping unless it has been mishandled.
Look for clues around the drill hole.
You may not be able to hold the pearls alone.
Real pearls are formed by nature and will always have some sort of imperfection if you look close enough.
Examine the drill hole with a magnifying glass.
But there are clues.
