Send photos. Get an honest opinion.
We sort Rudraksha every day in Kathmandu, and we will look at yours for nothing — whoever sold it to you. Take the six photographs below, check them here, and send them to us. You get a plain answer: what we can see, what we cannot, and what to do next.
Your photographs stay on your own device. This page checks them in your browser — nothing is uploaded to our website, stored, or added to any list. You send them yourself, on WhatsApp.
The six shots
Daylight near a window, no flash, plain background. Tap the screen to focus before each shot.
- 01Face-onThe bead flat to the camera, filling most of the frame.
- 02ReverseTurn it over — the lines must run continuously to the other side.
- 03Top holeStraight down into the upper hole, as close as your phone will focus.
- 04Bottom holeThe same from below — a natural channel looks nothing like a drilled bore.
- 05Macro of the linesOne groove filling the frame. This is where carving and glue give themselves away.
- 06ScaleThe bead beside a coin, or held between your fingers.
Check your photos
Tell us a little, then send
Open WhatsApp and attach your photosOr email [email protected]Either way your message opens already written — attach the photographs, or the single sheet you downloaded above, and send. WhatsApp is usually faster; email suits a larger set of pictures. No account, no form, no obligation.
Questions people ask
Can you tell if a Rudraksha is real from a photo?
Often, yes — glue seams, tool-regular carving, filled cracks and wrong grain show clearly in good daylight photos, and we sort these beads every day. But a photo cannot see inside a bead, so a clean-looking piece can still be hollow or joined. That is why the conclusive test is an X-ray, and why we say so instead of guessing.
Is this really free, even if I bought the bead elsewhere?
Yes. We give an honest first opinion on any Rudraksha, whoever sold it, with no obligation to buy anything from us. A market this full of fakes needs someone willing to look at a stranger's bead for nothing, and we would rather be that house.
What photos do you need?
Six: the bead face-on, the reverse, both holes straight down, one close macro of the mukhi lines, and one with the bead beside a coin or between your fingers for scale. Daylight near a window, no flash, on a plain background. The page below walks you through each shot and checks them.
Do my photos get uploaded to your website?
No. Everything on this page happens inside your own browser — your photos are never sent to our site, stored, or added to any list. You choose what to send us, and you send it yourself on WhatsApp, the same as messaging a friend.
How long does a reply take?
We answer WhatsApp messages through the working day in Nepal time, so most people hear back within a few hours. Complicated pieces — joined beads, unusual mukhi counts, high-value claims — sometimes take longer because we would rather look properly than answer quickly.
What if my bead turns out to be fake?
We will tell you plainly, with the reason we can see, and what to do next: ask the seller for an X-ray of that exact piece, or ask for your money back. We will not use bad news as a sales pitch, and you are under no obligation to buy a replacement from us.
Can you check a whole mala this way?
Yes — photograph the full strand, then close macros of three or four representative beads and any that look different from their neighbours. Mixed strands are common, so a mala often needs more shots than a single bead.
Will you send me a certificate based on photos?
No. A photo opinion is an opinion, and calling it a certificate would be dishonest. Written verification belongs to beads we have X-rayed ourselves, where evidence exists to stand behind — anyone issuing photo-based certificates is selling paper, not proof.
Before you send, you may want to work through the six visual checks yourself on our authenticity checker, or read the full method in our identification guide.