How to Tell If the Jewelry You're Buying Is Real

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Judy Carrier with Jewels by Park Lane and I'm here to tell you how to find out if the jewelry you're buying is real. The big thing is ask for documentation. If it's a stone, see if they have papers of certification telling you the karat. If it's metal look for a stamp. If it's gold or something, you should have ten karat, ten k, fourteen k, sixteen k, eighteen k, twenty k on up to twenty four k which is pure gold. You know, and that is usually stamped if it's a bracelet it'll be inside the bracelet usually or a ring, it'll be inside a ring. On a necklace it's usually up by the clasp. If it's sterling silver it's going to be stamped point nine two five sterling silver. That is required to be stamped on any item that's sterling. The other thing that you want to do to make sure it's real is have it tested, have it appraised by someone who is an expert in the field. Any reputable jeweler will have a wand like instrument that test diamonds. For instance what I would do, well to make sure if you don't know that jeweler personally or don't know his reputation, is perhaps take a pair of really good Cubic Zirconia earrings and have him test the earrings. Now it should turn from green along the side of the wand should go from green to red if it's real and it should beep. If it doesn't, you know if don't get a beep on your Cubic Zirconia but you do get a beep for instance on your ring, then that's probably real. That one way of telling and I would make sure they test something like this first. That way it won't just beep when they want it to. For instance if you're doing pearls, one way to test it is rub it against your teeth. It doesn't work with mine, I have false teeth. However they say that if it's smooth, it's probably fake. It should be a little rougher with a real pearl. Also check the bore of the hole. A real pearl has a very tiny bore because they try to maintain the value of the pearl. It'll make a big difference in how it weighs. Real pearls are heavier than fake. Another thing will be the warmth. Now glass pearls however, take a little longer to warm up in your hand than a real pearl. So it's still a good idea to have them appraised."