Real Black Pearl In Shell

Instead of waiting for an irritant like a piece of sand or small rock to enter the shell they are seeded by hand and in large quantities using a bit of shell from a sacrificed mollusk.

Real black pearl in shell.

A cultured pearl is a real pearl grown in a shellfish or mollusk. Although often referred to as black pearls their colors range from gray to green and even aubergine. A real pearl should bounce about 13 or 14 inches high whereas an imitation pearl s bounce will typically be much lower. Position the pearl about 24 inches above a glass surface such as a mirror or coffee table and let it drop.

Note that real pearls come in two varieties. While often smaller than south sea pearls tahitian pearls can also grow quite large with average sizes ranging from 8 to 14 millimeters. Tahitian pearls require no treatments to attain their dark iridescence. In general if the surface is grainy the pearl is real and if the texture is eggshell like with a rugged look the pearl is an imitation.

A surprisingly effective fix for knowing if pearls are real is to drop a pearl onto glass and measure the bounce. Natural pearls which are from shellfish caught in the wild and cultured pearls which are farm raised. Designers use the black mother of pearl shells for interior decoration in the form of tiles and paneling also in the fashion industry for high end jewellery or pearl shell buttons. The colors are completely natural.