While retailers are not required to tell you whether lasering has been done, you may want to ask. Imitation diamonds, such as cubic zirconia, resemble diamonds in appearance but are much less costly. Certain laboratory-created gemstones also resemble diamonds and may not be adequately detected by the detectors originally used to identify cubic zirconia. Ask your jeweler if he has the current testing equipment to distinguish between diamonds and other lab-created gemstones. Pearls Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks.
Imitation pearls are man-made.
Because very few natural pearls now are on the market, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pearls. Jewelers should tell you if the pearls are cultured or imitation. The dye on the black pearls can last a long time, but may not be permanent. Therefore, you should ask whether the black pearls being purchased are naturally colored or dyed.