A professional jeweller or pearl specialist would most likely be able to authenticate a pearl by visual inspection and weight alone. Authentication via x-ray is also possible; real pearls appear opaque on an x-ray, while fake pearls will appear transparent or have a solid center.

It's always best to consult a professional to authenticate your pearls, but here are two at-home methods for you to test if your pearls are genuine.

B I T E

Simply scrape the pearl against the tip of your tooth to check if it's real. Alternatively you could rub two pearls against each other. It should feel grainy or slightly gritty, as if you are scraping very fine sandpaper against your tooth.

If it slides completely smoothly without any grit (similar to sliding your tooth against a pen or plastic object), chances are, it is synthetic, made of plastic or it could be a shell pearl (more on that below).

Click here to watch a demonstration of this technique.

S O A K

If you have acetone or nail polish remover at home and are not so sure about the first method, try this simple method to test your pearls.

Wipe the pearl in question with cotton wool soaked in acetone, or you can completely immerse the pearl in a container of acetone. An imitation pearl will immediately lose its surface and you will be left with a dull white plastic sphere. Genuine pearls are so strong, you could soak them in acetone for a week without it compromising your pearl.

Please note that acetone will dissolve glue, so keep that in mind before you throw your earrings or necklace into a tub of acetone.

Shell Pearls

Shell pearls, also known as "shell-based pearls," are a type of imitation pearl. Unlike genuine pearls, which are formed inside the mollusk's soft tissue, shell pearls are made from ground up mother of pearl - the shiny inner lining of certain mollusk shells. 

The powder is reconstructed, dyed and coated. The resulting product has a similar appearance and luster to natural pearls, but shell pearls are heavier and are less valuable than genuine pearls. Shell pearls can easily be shaped into a perfectly round sphere and are so smooth that they fail the "bite test".

Whilst shell pearls are not considered to be fine jewellery, they can still be a beautiful and affordable option for costume jewelry.

Please note that at Akoya, we do not deal in shell pearls; this information is provided solely for educational purposes.

Head to our shop to buy real pearls.