diff --git a/ristretto_classloader/src/class.rs b/ristretto_classloader/src/class.rs
index e2d18f14..8c65c85e 100644
--- a/ristretto_classloader/src/class.rs
+++ b/ristretto_classloader/src/class.rs
@@ -471,6 +471,11 @@ impl Class {
 
 impl PartialEq for Class {
     fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        // Optimization for the case where the two classes are the same instance.
+        if std::ptr::eq(self, other) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
         self.name == other.name
             && self.class_file == other.class_file
             && *self.parent.read().expect("parent") == *other.parent.read().expect("parent")
diff --git a/ristretto_classloader/src/object.rs b/ristretto_classloader/src/object.rs
index eaf3ec15..fb6ef046 100644
--- a/ristretto_classloader/src/object.rs
+++ b/ristretto_classloader/src/object.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 const JAVA_8: Version = Version::Java8 { minor: 0 };
 
 /// Represents an object in the Ristretto VM.
-#[derive(Clone, PartialEq)]
+#[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct Object {
     class: Arc<Class>,
     fields: HashMap<String, Field>,
@@ -186,6 +186,17 @@ impl Display for Object {
     }
 }
 
+impl PartialEq for Object {
+    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+        // Compare the references by pointer to determine if they are the same object in
+        // order to avoid infinite recursion
+        if std::ptr::eq(self, other) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        self.class == other.class && self.fields == other.fields
+    }
+}
+
 impl TryInto<bool> for Object {
     type Error = crate::Error;
 
diff --git a/ristretto_classloader/src/reference.rs b/ristretto_classloader/src/reference.rs
index 22e35fb8..376df13f 100644
--- a/ristretto_classloader/src/reference.rs
+++ b/ristretto_classloader/src/reference.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use std::fmt::Display;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 /// Represents a reference to an object in the Ristretto VM.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq)]
 pub enum Reference {
     ByteArray(ConcurrentVec<i8>),
     CharArray(ConcurrentVec<u16>),
@@ -180,33 +180,6 @@ impl Display for Reference {
     }
 }
 
-impl PartialEq for Reference {
-    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
-        match (self, other) {
-            (Reference::ByteArray(a), Reference::ByteArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::CharArray(a), Reference::CharArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::ShortArray(a), Reference::ShortArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::IntArray(a), Reference::IntArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::LongArray(a), Reference::LongArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::FloatArray(a), Reference::FloatArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::DoubleArray(a), Reference::DoubleArray(b)) => a == b,
-            (Reference::Array(a_class, a_array), Reference::Array(b_class, b_array)) => {
-                a_class.name() == b_class.name() && a_array == b_array
-            }
-            (Reference::Object(a), Reference::Object(b)) => {
-                // Compare the references by pointer to determine if they are the same object in
-                // order to avoid infinite recursion
-                if std::ptr::eq(a, b) {
-                    true
-                } else {
-                    a == b
-                }
-            }
-            _ => false,
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 impl From<Vec<bool>> for Reference {
     fn from(value: Vec<bool>) -> Self {
         let value: Vec<i8> = value.into_iter().map(i8::from).collect();