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Monday, February 15, 2016

Pearl Quality and Pearls in Singapore and Japan

Here's one store in Singapore with a website. They clearly state that some of the pearls are faux which is a fancy French word for false, which is a good sign.

In the UK I once went with a friend to buy a Xmas gift of a pearl necklace in John Lewis. I had always previously thought that a major department store might be reliable. However, I think you often get more interesting design in speciality shops. We were told that pearls should be re-strung every year to guard against loss. What a nuisance for the recipient.

For the amount paid for a pearl necklace, matching pearl bracelet and pearl ring - three items to worry about breaking or losing a pearl, the buyer could have bought his lady a solid gold necklace which would always have kept its value and never broken.

http://www.chomel.com.sg

Japanese shops also sell pearls. I once bought silver grey pearl bracelet, in silver, at a good price from a shop in Japan. You can either buy them on holiday in Japan or on line.

I also found a Tahiti Pearl Market on Facebook.

What to look for when buying pearls
Not so exactly round that they must be machine made.
Nor huge imperfection.
Larger pearls cost more.
The expensive lustre or mirror quality, compared with the cheaper dull matt or chalky surface.
Colours affect the price, but what colour you like may depend on your skin colour, so a cheaper colour might suit your better.
An x-ray will reveal the inside showing whether they are man-made and solid, or built in layers like a tree. A magnifying glass will show the slight irregularities of a natural pearl.

Writers on the site say that if you rub two real pearl's together, they grate, but two fake or mad-made pearls are smooth. I'm not sure I'd risk damaging my own real pearls or anybody else - unless I was sure they were fake and wanted to prove the point. That's why the real pearls are divided by knots, firstly because they are valuable so will be kept for ever, not just a season, but secondly because real pearls are more likely to scratch each other with their protrusions.

More discussion on:
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?1206-What-makes-a-freshwater-higher-than-AAA

More information from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, researcher, author and speaker . 

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