When purchasing agarwood products, it’s important to understand that these are rare and expensive products and are therefor often counterfeited.
Luckily for you, we have some tips you can follow to help ensure you buy an authentic agarwood bracelet.
Table of Contents
Check the Fragrance
High-quality agarwood bracelets are fragrant at room temperature, so providing that you are aware of what authentic agarwood smells like, you should be able to discern whether the bracelet smells of true agarwood.
Unfortunately, many dishonest vendors will rub agarwood oil on the beads, so that they appear to be of a higher caliber.
Of course, the best way to tell if the agarwood is real is to burn a small bit of the material, but jewelry vendors are never going to let you do that. Instead, ask if you can ream the inside of a bead with a hot metal wire so that you can see if there is fragrance inside the bead. This may seem strange, but when you are spending $15,000 on a piece of jewelry, it’s important to make sure that you aren’t being taken for a ride.
If you already own the agarwood bracelet, then another good way to tell if it is authentic is by sanding a tiny bit of powder off one of the beads. If it’s a high-quality bracelet, the divine aroma of agarwood should fill the surrounding air.
Check the Bead Color
Authentic agarwood bracelets will have variations in their color. Unless you are purchasing a bracelet of ridiculous quality, then it would be normal for the bracelet to have both dark resinous sections, as well as white sections of wood.
Many fake agarwood bracelets are entirely black because they are injected with resin, oil, or coloring. These are often sold for a cheap price, but some vendors will try to pawn these off as high-end kynam bracelets. Don’t be fooled. Kynam agarwood bracelets are not only a rare find, but they are also very, very expensive.
Check the Surface of the Beads
The best quality agarwood bracelets are made from sinking-grade material, which means that their resin formations are do dense that they sink in water. These dense resin formations result in the beads having a very smooth surface. This is something you should look for when buying a sinking-grade agarwood bracelet. Lower-grade agarwood has less resin and therefor will usually have a rougher surface.
If you are unsure about the bead quality, it can help to bring out a microscope.
Conclusion
In conclusion, make sure that you are purchasing your agarwood jewelry from a company you can trust, because the world of agarwood is often a bit shady.
Featured Image Credit: Danieliness, Wikipedia.
