How do you tell if pearls are real?
Key Takeaways
- Real pearls including both natural and cultured pearls.
- How Do You Tell if Pearls are Real? There are several tests you can do including the surface, colour, shape, lustre, sound, and temperature tests.
- Run a pearl gently against your teeth or against another pearl. Real pearls feel slightly gritty, while fake pearl feel overly smooth.
- Real pearls often show minor surface imperfections like bumps and ridges. Flawless surfaces may signal a fake pearl, especially.
- Real pearls tend to feel heavier and remain cool to the touch, unlike fake pearls that may feel light weight and room temperature.
Summarise this article
Nestled on the stunning lower Hawkesbury River, our Broken Bay Pearl Farm is proud to be the only working pearl farm in New South Wales – cultivating rare, ocean-grown Australian Akoya pearls.
Every pearl we grow tells a story of its unique environment, and and no two are ever truly identical. But with so many pearls on the market, how do you tell if pearls are real? Let’s take a look at some ways your can tell the difference between real and fake pearls.
Natural vs cultured pearls
When someone asks whether a pearl is “real”, they may be wondering whether it’s naturally formed in the wild or farmed by people.
Natural Pearls
Natural pearls occur in the wild without human intervention. These are incredibly rare, found in as few as 1 in 10,000 oysters and only found on the antique market.
Cultured Pearls
Cultured pearls, like the ones grown here at Broken Bay Pearl Farm, are also real pearls. The only difference is that the process begins with a helping hand by our pearl farm technicians.
Pearl farm technicians carefully introduce a nucleus into a pearl shell, which then coats it in layers of nacre – the same way natural pearls are formed. The result is a stunning, organic gemstone created in harmony with nature and science.
At Broken Bay Pearl Farm, we cultivate Pinctada fucata pearl shell or Akoya oyster, using sustainable aquaculture practices that respect the lower Hawkesbury River’s biodiversity. Our pearls are all certified Australian-grown and traceable to our own pristine environments.
Learn about the differences between natural vs cultured pearls.
Saltwater vs freshwater pearls
Now that we’ve established that you’re probably not going to be looking for a “natural” pearl, the next factor to be considered is whether it is a saltwater or freshwater pearl.
Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls are typically grown in molluscs within lakes, rivers and ponds – mostly in China. They tend to be more accessible in price and are often chemically enhances to appear cleaner, brighter and more consistent in colour.
Saltwater Pearls
Saltwater pearls, like our Australian Akoya pearls, are cultivated in pearl shell found in the ocean or estuarine environments like our very own Broken Bay Pearl Farm. These pearls are known for their natural colour and lustre.
Both natural and cultured pearls are real pearls, the difference lies in their origin and characteristics. At Broken Bay, we take pride in producing traceable, ocean-grown pearls right here in New South Wales.
How to Tell If a Pearl Is Real
So how do you tell is pearls are real? While a professional opinion is the best, there are a few simple checks you can do at home.
The Surface of a Pearl
Real pearls often have subtle surface irregularities. A fake pearl is usually a little too perfect, with a smooth, blemish free surface.
This means when it comes to feeling the surface of the pearl, a fake pearl will be smooth to touch while real pearls will have a gritty texture. You can also apply the tooth test to check for grittiness. This involves lightly rubbing the pearl against the front of your tooth. Remember not to rub the pearl against the side of your tooth, as this may scratch the pearl.
The Colour of a Pearl
The second thing you can do is look at the colour of the pearl. Fake pearls have a uniform colour, so if a pearl is real, what we’re looking for is a translucent overtone that could appear either green or pink over the main colour. Exceptional quality pearls may however have a uniform colour, so this factor should not be used in isolation.
The Shape of a Pearl
The third thing you can do is look at the shape of the pearl. A real pearl can often be misshapen (baroque), so if the pearls you’re examining are perfectly round, and are either at a low price point or are being sold from a less than reputable retailer, then there is a good chance those “pearls” will be fake. Additionally, real pearls are unique in that no two are exactly alike – their shapes and sizes will vary.
The Lustre of a Pearl
Just as we’ve seen with surface, colour and shape, the lustre (the way that the pearls radiate light), also varies with real pearls, while the fake pearls are more likely to radiate light evenly over the entire surface of the pearl. Further, the depth of lustre with real pearls is very pronounced, which gives the sense that the light is radiating from within the pearl. The lustre or lack thereof, of the fake pearls, gives the impression that this effect is shallow and only appears at the surface of the gemstone.
Fake pearls are often created using a process of moulding one of the compounds mentioned above and then coating the surface with a pearl-like substance. As a result, they are not as dense as real pearls and will usually be lighter in weight. Fake pearls may also feel abnormally heavy as they may have been given some additional weight, while the real thing will have a weight that you would have expected it to have.
The Sound of a Pearl
Another way to tell the difference between fake and real pearls is by their sound. Real pearls sound less “tinny” than fake ones, which tend to resonate more hollowly. Another way to differentiate between the two is by how they react to being rubbed. Real pearls will create powder when rubbed while fake pearls will not, however, this activity will cause damage to the surface of the pearl, so we wouldn’t recommend using this as a way of determining pearl authenticity.
The Temperature of a Pearl
The temperature of the pearl can be a good indicator of its authenticity or otherwise. A real pearl will feel cool but will warm up once it’s been in contact with skin. Fake pearls can feel sticky and will be warm even without having been handled.
Pearl Tests Your Shouldn’t Try
Let us be clear here. Do not perform the bounce or fire tests. You may come across these methods and people may have used them in the past but given there are other methods that don’t involve the potential for personal injury and/or damage to the pearl, these are not recommended. Pearls are sensitive gems that require specific care and attention, a topic we will cover in another article.
The bounce test involves dropping a pearl onto a piece of glass. If the pearl bounces more than one foot, it’s probably real. The fire test involves holding a naked flame to the pearl. The fake pearls will develop a bad odour and will lose their lustre, whereas the natural or cultured pearl produces no odour and will retail its lustre. If you keep the flame on a real pearl, after about two minutes the pearl will make a pop sound, while no such sound will be heard from the fake item.
How Do You Tell if Pearls are Real? Best to Ask an Expert
If you want to be sure about how to tell if pearls are real, you can always find a specialist who can use a magnifier to quickly tell if what you have is the real thing, or whether you’re holding a strand nice looking, but plastic beads.
Pearls are beautiful and unique gems that have been prized by humans for centuries. Now that you know a little bit more about pearls, feel free to browse our collection and find the perfect piece just for you.
Do you have any questions about pearls that we didn’t cover in this article? Feel free to drop us a line or book a free 15-minute consultation with one of our experienced staff. And if you found this article helpful, be sure to share it with your friends so they can learn more about these amazing gems too!
Visit the Pearl Source
Want to learn more about pearls in person? Join us at our Broken Bay Pearl Farm in New South Wales. See behind the scences of Australian’s only Akoya pearl farm, visit our working oyster leases, meet our team, and experience the passion we have for our precious gems and the incredible environments that they are cultivated in.
We’re here to help you discover the beauty of authentic, real Australian pearls.
Real vs Fake Pearls FAQs
Real pearls, whether natural or cultured, show subtle surface variations, deep lustre, and layered overtones when viewed in good light.
Fake pearls often appear overly perfect, uniformly smooth, and have a flat or glossy shine. At Broken Bay Pearl Farm, the Akoya pearls that we grow display natural colour and lustre, never chemically treated. They are then set into timeless jewellery pieces and sold at our Shellar Door through Pearls of Australia, and each piece or loose pearl includes full pearl type identification, grading details and a Certificate of Authenticity.
Yes, real pearls almost always have small imperfections. These are signs of genuine nacre formation. Perfectly smooth, identical pearls, especially at low prices, are often imitation beads rather than real pearls.
Real pearl lustre appears deep and reflective, with light seeming to glow from within the pearl rather than just on the surface. This is caused by layers of nacre formed over several years. Cultured Akoya pearls cultivated at our Broken Bay Pearl Farm are especially known for their bright, mirr0r-like lustre, and Broken Bay is the only pearl farm producing Akoya pearls in Australia – making them exceptionally rare.
The tooth test is when you gently rub a pearl against your front teeth, and can sometimes help you determine if a pearl is real or not. Real pearls feel slightly gritty, while fake pearls often feel overly smooth. However, this method should be used cautiously and is not recommended for fine jewellery. A safer approach is buying from trusted pearl specialists such as Broken Bay Pearl Farm.
Real pearls do indeed feel different in temperature when compared to fake or imitation pearls. Real pearls usually feel cool when first touched and gradually warm against the skin. Many imitation pearls made from plastic feel closer to room temperature. Temperature alone isn’t a definitive factor, but it can be a supporting clue when discerning between real and fake pearls.
Yes, cultured pearls are real pearls. They are formed inside living pearl shell, like our Akoya pearl shell, through nacre layering a nucelus. The only difference between pearl formation is whether there was initial human intervention or not. Our Australian Akoya pearls produced at Broken Bay Pearl Farm are genuine cultured pearls.
Real pearls are formed from nacre inside a pearl shell, like the Pinctada fucata or Akoya pearl shell that we carefully cultivate at our Broken Bay Pearl Farm. Imitation pearls are manufactured from materials like glass or plastic and coated to look like pearls. We only sell genuine cultured pearls loose and in our pearl jewellery.
The safest way is to buy from a specialist pearl retailer that is able to provide you with details and information around the pearl type, pearl grade and pearl provenance. Broken Bay Pearl Farm grows Australian Akoya pearls, each coming with a Certificate of Authenticity. Our pearls are available loose or set in pearl jewellery.