Are Freshwater pearls imitations?

[jason202120]

Are freshwater cultured pearls considered "fake"?
I want to tell more about synthetics, simulations, and fakes to get to the pearls. Anything that has the same physical properties as its natural equivalent is a synthetic. A ruby created by a lab is still a ruby.

 

[CortezPearls]

Hello Jason202120
Welcome to our pearl lovin' forum!
This is a good one and already loving the answers

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Real pearls:
1. cultured pearls (i.e. farmed pearls)-- today's pearl market is a cultured pearl market.
2. natural (i.e. wild pearls, which form without any human intervention)-- while there are still some natural pearls, these are much more rare.

Real pearls form inside the mussel or oyster. The nacre is laid down by the animal itself. Some have an implanted shell nucleus and others do not.

Imitation pearls (a.k.a. fake, faux, simulated, etc.)
glass, plastic or shell beads coated with imitation pearl coating

The imitation pearl coating is most commonly made from an emulsion made from fish scale extract and a kind of lacquer. They are made in a factory.

 

[CortezPearls]

Pearl Dreams has explained perfectly.
We consider "imitations" as a man-made product, whereas actual ("real") pearls are bio-organically made by mollusks, even if there is human intervention (cultured pearl).