Spotting a Fake Bulgari Divas' Dream Necklace

Hello, I'm Jessi, a concierge at ONE OF ONE. Today I'd like to share the appraisal results for a customer who brought a Bulgari Divas' Dream small mother-of-pearl diamond necklace to our showroom to find out whether it was genuine.

When a piece comes without a warranty card, a private direct deal made without an expert appraisal can lead to a serious financial loss. We recommend having the piece authenticated by a trustworthy business, or buying only pieces that a business has already authenticated and guarantees as genuine.

At first glance, almost identical

The piece below looked remarkably similar to a genuine one to the naked eye. It is a fake, but at a quick glance it looks just like the real thing.

In fact, the 18K touchstone test did not erase the 18K solution, and the weight was very close to that of a genuine piece. So was the size.

Under the microscope

But when we compared the two under a microscope, the engravings showed several differences.

“Made in Italy.” On the fake (left), “Made in Italy” appears in mixed upper and lower case, in a script or italic style. The letter size and slant are uneven and the strokes are thin, so it looks more like scratches than an engraving. On the genuine piece (right), “MADE IN ITALY” is in all-capital sans-serif letters, with even height, spacing, and depth and crisp stroke edges. The font can vary by model and year, so we recommend comparing against a genuine piece from the same line.

Hallmarks. On the fake (left), the numbers inside the hexagon are small, shallow, and blurred, and the border is uneven, so nothing beyond something like “16” can be read. On the genuine piece (right), there is an oval stamp with the 750 mark and a star (the Italian maker identification mark), and the hexagonal mark beside it also carries a number. The borders are clean, like a stamped seal, and the spacing and alignment between the marks are consistent. Italian hallmarks are made up of the gold fineness (750), a star, the maker's number, and the city abbreviation. On the fake, these elements are missing or faint.

The BVLGARI disc. Both discs carry the double “BVLGARI · BVLGARI” engraving and the same inner-ring structure. On the fake (left), the letters look slightly thinner and unevenly spaced. On the genuine piece (right), the strokes are even and the letters have clearly defined edges.

The diamond

The diamond test showed that the stone was a lab-grown diamond, not a natural one. Luxury maisons use only natural diamonds. On the testing instrument below, the red marking indicates HPHT, meaning a lab-grown diamond created under high pressure and high temperature.

Counterfeits are getting more sophisticated by the day, so authentication can't rest on a single factor. It has to bring together several.

If you need luxury jewelry authenticated in Korea, or want to buy pre-owned luxury jewelry that has been carefully inspected, please contact ONE OF ONE. Appointments are required.