A lacquer coating is visible on clean alloys and feels like plastic to the touch. It also gives the alloys a silky-smooth finish. Unlacquered alloys, that is just painted alloys, feel ever so slightly grainy to the touch.
I would be quite surprised if the Carelias were just painted. One of the problems with unlacquered alloys is that brake dust penetrates the nooks and crannies and is visible as a tiny specks on the wheel - a bit like a light sprinking of ground black pepper. The brake dust penetrates the paint itself and cannot be removed without removing the paint. A lacquer coating prevents this from happening.
I became a bit suspicious about the wheels after they became quite difficult to clean, compared to the wheels on my previous car which were lacquered.
