Imitation pearl

Imitation pearls are man-made faux pearls. They are not to be confused with cultured pearls, which are real pearls created through human intervention.

Items made from Majorica pearls, a version of imitation pearl

Materials used to create imitation pearls include glass, plastic, and mollusc shells. As an alternative, some plastic beads are coated with a pearlescent substance to imitate the natural iridescence of nacre or mother of pearl.

Types

• Bathed pearl (also called Angel, Sheba, Mikomo, Kobe, Nikko, Sumo, Fijii, Aloha, or "improved cultured pearl") is a mother-of-pearl core coated with a mixture of plastic enamel, lead carbonate, mica, and titanium dioxide, then with a film of iridescent nylon.^[1]
• Bohemian pearl is a cut and buffed mother-of-pearl protuberance.^[1]
• Cotton pearl (also called "Utter Ethical pearl") is made merely from cotton and mica.
• Glass pearl is a glass bead dipped or sprayed with pearlescent material, or hollow glass bead filled with pearlescent material. One variation is the Majorica pearl. Wax-filled pearl simulants are hollow glass beads coated with essence d'orient and filled with wax. Variations of these wax-filled simulants, which are produced in slightly different manners, include Parisian pearls, Paris pearls, French pearls, Bourguignon pearls, and Venetian pearls.^[1]
• Mother-of-pearl pearl is crushed nacreous shell powder, sintered into the desired shape. See also shell pearl (1) below.^[1]
• Plastic pearl has plastic core coated with a pearlescent material.^[1]
• Roman pearl is an alabaster core coated with a pearlescent material.^[1]
• Shell pearl
  • Cut, buffed, and sometimes dyed nacreous portions of mollusk shells: Variations and alternate names include cat's-eye pearl, coque de perle (from nautilus shells), mother-of-pearl pearl (from mother-of-pearl), and hinge pearl (from the hinge of bivalve shells).^[1]
  • Spherical shell core coated with pearlescent material^[1]

The pearlescent substance used to coat various cores may contain essence d'orient, isinglass, fish scales, oyster scales, or mother-of-pearl powder, along with binders or dyes.^[1]

Coral is sometimes used to imitate pearls from the pink conch, and hematite is sometimes used to imitate black pearls.^[1]

See also

• Cultured pearl
• Pearloid