Some Important Facts about buying Pearls

I think it's fair to say that like any other investment that we buy, we need to ensure that we are buying what we paid for. I would not be surprised if one would be hesitant to buy pearls as one would be scared if they buy fake ones. So question is, how do we know if our pearls are real?

Here are the things I consider when buying pearls.

· Colour - Examine the colour. Pearls both natural and cultured often have an overtone, a translucent colour that appears on the outer surface of a pearl. You'll see a hint of pink for example. If it has uniform colour then I suspect you got the fake.

· Nacre thickness - Natural and cultured pearls have textured surface due to their layered nacre structure, so when you rub pearls with each other or what i would normally do is lightly rub on the teeth and you would feel it to be a little gritty or like sand.

· Luster - The higher the luster, the brighter the reflection.

· Shape - Most pearls don't come round. They come in all shapes and sizes. Rounder pearls are higher in price, but even in strands of perfectly round pearls you can still see a slight difference in their shape. If its perfect then its probably fake.

· Size- Pearls come in different sizes. The bigger the pearls the better... I mean the more expensive it is.

· Blemishes - Look for irregularities. You can always see tiny irregularities or blemishes in them even when its top quality.

· Weight - Both natural and cultured pearls are heavier than fake ones.

I have to say once you have one, you would want to have more. You can never have enough pearls.