The iridescent nacre is the hallmark of a real pearl.
Natural pictures of real pearls.
In natural pearls the irritant generally comes from the water its surrounded by while in cultured pearls a piece of tissue is inserted by people to get the process started.
Imitation pearls are usually perfectly round and flawless.
Here is all the information regarding natural pearls that you should be aware of.
If you pick up a strand of them they are going to feel really light whereas real pearls are kind of heavy to your hand.
Real pearls are a precious gemstone made by oysters mussels and various other bivalve mollusk species.
That is the main reason why nearly all of the pearls available on the market are now cultured.
In both instances the nacre quality will dictate that quality of the pearl s lustre and shine.
Even today natural pearls are extremely rare and valuable.
Most real pearls today are cultured or farmed by inserting material into a mollusk after which the mollusk lays down concentric layers of nacre until a pearl is formed.
Real pearls are heavier than fake pearls.
The rise of fake pearls.
Pearl culturing and processing has come a long way in the last thirty years but pearls are still a natural product often slightly off round with small imperfections visible on the surface.
It may sound a bit strange but using your teeth is a good tip on how to tell real pearls from fake.
Natural pearls which are from shellfish caught in the wild and cultured pearls which are farm raised.
Depending on whether human assistance is involved or not this organic gem can either be cultured or natural.
As mentioned earlier only natural and cultured pearls and considered authentic.
Most fake pearls that are on the market today come from china and are made in labs using materials such as plastic and glass.
Note that real pearls come in two varieties.
If you were to take a string of pearls and run them along.
As the popularity of pearls continued to grow in the 20 th century so did the rise of counterfeit pearls.
Ironically the better grandma s pearls look the more likely it is they aren t real.
It s worth noting that almost all pearls on the market today are cultured.
Cultured pearls natural pearls.
Pearl natural or cultured is a us birthstone for june together with alexandrite and moonstone.
Natural pearls tend to be rarer and more expensive than cultured pearls.
Natural pearls form in the bodies or mantle tissue of certain mollusks usually around a microscopic irritant and always without human help of any kind.
There is still a lot of confusion surrounding natural pearls and what the natural distinction truly means.
This is key to both its value and its beauty.
Browse 1 153 oyster pearl stock photos and images available or search for pearl oyster or oyster shell to find more great stock photos and pictures.