What Does A Natural Pearl Look Like

As fake pearls rub against.

What does a natural pearl look like.

A natural pearl begins its life inside an oyster s shell when an intruder such as a grain of sand or bit of floating food slips in between one of the two shells of the oyster a type of mollusk. There are both pros and cons when it comes to purchasing natural pearls. That said purchasing natural pearls can be a bit of a tricky process. Imitation or simulated pearls often have rough or rounded edges.

Yellow gold is the most popular and traditional to use with pink to peach freshwater pearls. 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. A look inside shows how pearls form in oysters oysters continuously rotate a single lustrous orb for at least a year before the pearl becomes jewelry. Look around the pearl drill hole.

The most common color for pearls is white cream or gray but they also come in colors such as purple black pink green champagne chocolate blue and lavender. Newer cultured pearl techniques are producing larger bead nucleated freshwater pearls like edison pearls that routinely measure 14 0 16 0mm on average. Natural pearls are less transparent than cultured pearls. A real pearl will have well defined edges like a hollow cylinder.

Most pearls won t be perfect spheres they ll usually be slightly oblong or have minor defects. It warms up the pink and golden hues already present in the pearl. It is possible for real pearls to be perfectly. Also look for chipped paint or coating around the hole.

On one hand natural pearls are some of the world s most rare and unique gemstones. If your pearls look perfectly round to you there s a good chance they re artificial. Pearls strung along a strand will have holes drilled for the silk string to pass through. Because they re products of nature every real pearl is slightly different just like snowflakes or fingerprints.