1 – THE TWO-SIDED TEST
Turn over the Persian rug you are dealing with: the back (back) of the rug is very similar to the front, so it is a very good quality Persian rug, with a high knotting density:
A real oriental rug is handmade.
On the other hand, if there is a big difference between the aspect of the back and that of the front, it is about a copy of Persian carpet made with the machine.
Be careful if the merchant who offers you this rug tells you that it is a handmade rug, decline his offer and go away:
It is a scam guaranteed!
2 – FLEXIBILITY
A handmade rug will be more flexible than its machine-made counterpart. Handle it, you will notice that it is flexible whereas a machine made carpet is rather rigid because of its various synthetic components.
3 – FRINGES
The Fringes of a Persian carpet will ALWAYS be the extension of the threads of the weft of the carpet (skeleton) whereas for a synthetic carpet, if the latter has fringes, in 80% of cases these are either sewn or glued to the handmade area rug. Take a closer look and you’ll be sure! Moreover, they will not last long! Speaking of fire
4 – THE FIRE TESTÂ
Are you buying a Persian silk rug and want to be sure you don’t get rolled in flour? You don’t want to end up in Pancake with a synthetic carpet in the middle of your majestic living room?
We are going to teach you an unstoppable technique:
Many handmade Persian rugs are sold as silk rugs, when in fact they were made with synthetic silk (viscose) >> Result, the carpet’s lifespan is much less than its natural silk equivalent. Turn the carpet in question over, and locate a protruding “silk” thread, pull on it (the seller should logically allow you to do this, he doesn’t there is no risk for the carpet). Take a lighter, and set fire to the wire (not to the carpet!):
If the flame goes out then it is real (natural) silk. Otherwise, if the thread is completely consumed then it is not silk folks, you are dealing with synthetic “silk” (viscose = plastic!). Also, note that a professional can recognize synthetic silk by its appearance, it shines much more than natural silk.
5 – THE EXPERT IS YOU!
Nowadays, the development of industrial carpet making techniques is such that you have to look twice to not be fooled. Specialized factories design very fine Persian carpets in genuine natural silk using machines. Some dishonest traders took advantage of this and they started selling luxury machine-made Persian rugs passing them off as handmade rugs:
Results, they sell for example so-called Ghoum Persian rugs silk at the price strong, while it is only poor imitation machines which are not worth a penny, and whose lifespan will, of course, be extremely limited. I will teach you how to tell the difference between a luxury machine made silk rug and its authentic handmade counterpart.
TURN THE CARPET over, if you see light colored “streaks” like on the next two carpets, know that it is a mechanical carpet. These streaks form straight lines of the same size and parallel, reminiscent of a canvas: it is the result of the work of a machine! On the other hand, if no streak appears on the back of the rug, and the rug looks extremely similar to the front, then it is an authentic, handmade Persian rug. PLEASE NOTE, if you don’t turn the rug over, you will absolutely not differentiate between a handmade silk rug and a “machine” silk rug.
