Classification and Identification of Pearls

Jade can be carved to show its charm, while a pearl show its beauty since it is cultivated. For thousands of years, pearls are always regarded as perfect decoration which enjoys the favors of female widely, thus pearls enjoy the praise of “queen of jewelry” among the jewelry world.Currently, a wide variety of pearls are supplied on the market, there are three categories when summed up: cultured pearls, natural pearl and imitation pearls.Cultured pearls can be divided into freshwater cultured pearls and seawater cultured pearls. Freshwater pearls are seedless and are usually cultured in lakes, ponds and other environment no more than 4 meters; seawater cultured pearls are found in tropical and subtropical shallow waters, which take advantage of seed rearing method. Natural pearls are cylindrical granular shape and of small seeds which can be seen with naked eye. It is a problem to identify natural pearls and freshwater cultured pearls exactly in jewelry appraisal, but experts can distinguish the two according to the structure, density, fluorescence, and transparency of the nacre. To consumers, the easiest way to identify a natural, freshwater cultured and seawater cultured pearls are: natural pearls are of small seeds, thus they cannot be seen directly by eyes; seawater cultured pearls are of lager seeds; freshwater are seedless. Artificially cultured pearls (freshwater pearls and seawater pearls) are of good transparency and translucent and gelatinous appearance, while natural pearls are of poor transparency and dignified appearance; there are projection and recesses on the surface of cultured pearls, while it is smooth on natural pearl beads. There are three most commonly seen imitation pearl beads- waxed glass imitation beads which are made of by fixing the small hollow milky ball in the center with wax, it can be distinguished by hanging it for the beads are light, the inner part is soft when touched with a needle and its surface cannot be engraved due to their smooth characteristics; solid glass imitation beads: they are producing by dipping the white solid glass beads into the “pearl liquid”, when using a needle toggling at the drilling part, the surface would fall off while there isn’t fine scale-like articles; plastic coated imitation beads: they are made of by plating the surface of the plastic beads layers of “pearl liquid”, when using a needle toggling at the drilling part, the same phenomenon with the former beads, while it can be felt it is not glass materials when using a needle touch the surface directly. Generally, when friction happens between two real pearl beads, there will be sandy sense, while when it happens to imitation beads, there will be smooth sense- that the easiest way to identify pearls.Pearls are of many colors: white, gold, silver, pink, red, black, blue, grey and other colors, among these colors white with slightly rose red, black and blue with metallic luster is the priority, while when saw pearls with bright black or grey beads, attention should be paid for they might be dyed beads. Methods to indentify dyed and natural color pearls is: the color of natural black beads are not pure black, they would be rainbow-like shiny deep blue black, or black with bronze sense; with monotonous colors and poor luster, dyed pearls are grayish black and black, when scrubbed with cloth which is dipped in dilute nitric acid, black trace would be left on the cloth. Facing the colorful, true and false coexistence jewelry market, there is no need for all of us to be expert, but manipulating some easy methods and common sense to purchasing jewelry can let us buy satisfying and perfect product. The false or true, color, luster, degree of transparency, shape, size or the producing techniques can all become the overall judgment of the economic value of pearls. May the gloss of pearls can bring you peaceful and enjoyable senses.