With so many beautiful, authentic cultured pearls on the market, there is no need to get ripped off. Keeping an eye out for the below enhancements and misrepresentations can save you a lot of heart ache.

• Large, round, but nucleated Pearls

Freshwater pearls are supposed to be solid nacre. However some freshwater pearls are nucleated, meaning that small low-quality (rounded out) pearls, basic shell beads, etc. were used as "beads" to grow Freshwater pearls. (Nucleation is widely used in saltwater pearls, and is new to freshwater pearls) Personally I don't think nucleation is a harmful concept as long as this is being disclosed to consumers. This will afford consumers the opportunity to own pearls that look much more like Akoyas for a much lower price.

How to tell -- Freshwater pearl lots that are nucleated will have a large number of pearls with a tail, like Tahitian or Akoya baroques. They look very different than typical baroque freshwater pearls.

• Pearls with fake luster

Some pearls have a “coating” that creates a fake luster. Coating (i.e. shiny lacquer type treatment) will wear away.  I highly recommend staying away from these pearls. They are low quality to begin with and the lacquer treatment is used to portray higher quality pearls so that the sellers can get a higher price.

How to tell – Remember to look for deep luster, not surface shine. If you are suspicious about a shiny topcoat, have the pearls examined for nacre thickness. Any qualified gemologist can do this for you.

• Dyed Pearls

About 70% of the pearls are color treated in some way but that means mostly bleaching that can be chemical (cold process in 1.5% H2O2 solution under UV light) or simply consists in putting the pearls out in the sun for a few days. Bleaching and polishing are fine, most of the pearls have gone through at least this. Natural pearl colors will stay that way, but some dyed pearls will fade if they are not dyed properly. Proper dying treatment should be permanent,

How to tell – White, and the fancy colors in the pink to violet to goldish range are the possible natural freshwater pearl colors. If you see pearls in those colors you need to tell whether they are natural or not from experience. But when you see pearls in any strange colors like green or yellow then that’s definitely dyed.

• “Exotic” Pearls

There are many varieties of pearls on today’s market. However, some “exotic” nicknames like "Atlas Pearls," or "Kultured Pearls" are simply imitations. Beware of fancy monikers.

Of course, you should always remember the simple tooth test on any pearl, as it will give away any imitation. Also, don’t be afraid to talk frankly with your jeweler about treatments and have them clearly spelled out on your bill of sale.