The most important factor is
luster, which is light
reflected from the pearls
surface. When you look at a
group of pearl strands or loose
pearls, your eye is naturally
drawn to the one with the
highest luster. For
cultured pearl experts, luster
is perhaps the most important
indicator in evaluating cultured
pearl quality. Luster is what
separates the inferior pearl
from the superior and the
ordinary from the extraordinary.
Luster is what many experts term
the heart and soul of the
sea-grown gem. Throughout
history, this unique luster has
separated pearls from all other
gem.
For
the layman and jewelry novice,
the luster of a pearl can best
be described as a combination of
a high, reflective sheen on the
surface of a pearl combined with
an almost three-dimensional glow
that seems to emanate from
within the heart of a pearl. For
the average person, evaluating
the luster of a cultured pearl
is not rocket science. Luster
can be judged easily by the
naked eye and without any
equipment. Pearls with high
luster have the ability to
sharply reflect images around
them, almost like a mirror. In
addition they always display the
characteristic depth or
three-dimensional glow and a
subtle display of different
surface colors (sometimes
referred to as orient) that is
so prized among high-quality
pearls. Pearls with low luster
often look dull, monotonous,
chalky and lifeless.
Nacre
The
next factor is nacre coating.
Nacre coating can affect luster
and can also affect the
durability of the pearl. A pearl
with thin nacre coating can have
nice luster, but one with a
thicker coating will have better
luster. Nacre coating in Akoya
pearls is usually one-half to
one MM in thickness. In South
Sea and Tahitian pearls it can
range from .8 to 4MM in
thickness.
Freshwater pearls that are
nucleated with only a mantle
piece are composed entirely of
nacre because during the
cultivation period the mantle
piece disintegrates leaving only
nacre.
Surface Imperfections
If there are 2 pearls of equal
quality the one with the fewest
imperfections on the surface
will be more valuable
Here are examples of a range of
cultured pearl surface quality.
The pearl at left has a damaging
pinhole. Beside it is a pearl
with a damaging chip and crack.
Next are non-damaging bumps and
pits, then non-damaging wrinkles
and finally a blemish-free
pearl.
Surface imperfections are the
next factor. If there are 2
pearls of equal quality the one
with the fewest imperfections on
the surface will be more
valuable. Wavy or rough surface
skin will also decrease the
value of a pearl. Think of
good-quality pearls and you’ll
likely think of smooth surfaces.
In fact, surface is the second
most important aspect in
evaluating a cultured pearl
after luster. Surface quality
refers specifically to the
abundance or absence of physical
blemishes or flaws. When
evaluating surface (the trade
uses such terms as blemish,
spotting and cleanliness),
remember that cultured pearls
are grown by live oysters in
nature. As such, there are many
uncontrollable forces that
affect the surface.
Shape
Round Pearls are
worth the most
Shape is the next determining
factor. All things being equal,
the rounder the pearl the more
valuable. Other shapes are
baroque which is very irregular,
drop shape, button shape and
oval
shape. The pearl with the most
luster and fewest surface
imperfections in any shape will
be the most valuable.
Shape
This
is a category where you could
drive yourself crazy. I might
look at a pearl and say it looks
oval shape. You might look at
the same pearl and say it looks
more barrel shape. Who is
correct? For the sake of
simplicity we will designate 3
categories for shape. They will
be Round, Semi or Off –Round and
Baroque.
Round
Round is the most recognizable
and sought after shape. When the
Japanese select pearls for
shape, they let the pearls roll
down a large inclined piece of
glass. Some pearls veer off to
the right or left and some roll
straight down. The ones that
come straight down are round.
Semi
or Off-Round
The
Semi or Off-Round category
encompasses a wide variety of
shapes. It includes pearls that
are so slightly out of round
that it is very difficult for
the untrained eye to notice that
they aren’t perfectly round to
pearls that are button shape,
drop shape, coin shape etc.
Pearls in this category are
uniform and proportioned in
their shape as opposed to
irregular in shape which leads
us to the last category.
Baroque
Baroque pearls are irregular in
shape. There are 2 classes of
Baroque pearls, baroque and
semi-baroque. To give an
example, you might consider a
pearl in the shape of a stone to
be semi-baroque while one with a
nacre build up on it that looks
like a tail on the pearl would
be considered baroque. Here
again you can have different
opinions on what passes as
baroque and semi-baroque.
Ringed
Some
ware between shape and surface
are ringed or circled pearls
Ringed or Circled pearls are
characterized by regular streaks
or concave rings perpendicular
to an axis of revolution over
more than the upper third of the
pearl’s surface. All things
being equal, a round pearl will
be more valuable that an
off-round
or semi-round pearl and both of
these will be more valuable than
a baroque or semi-baroque pearl.
If however all things are not
equal a round pearl is not
always the most valuable. For
example, one pearl can be very
round, thin coated with low
luster. Another pearl can be
slightly off-round, having heavy
nacre coating and high luster.
Even though this pearl isn’t
round it is worth more than the
round pearl because of its thick
coating and high luster.
European countries prefer
off-round, heavily coated, high
luster pearls with spotting to
the thin coated lower luster
clean round pearls that are
popular in America. There are a
lot more of this type pearl
cultivated than there are round
pearls. So, you are paying a
premium for pearls that are
round but might not be as good a
quality as others that aren’t
round. Things like this are what
make cultured pearls such an
interesting industry.
Color
The colors of freshwater...
Tahitian Color
South Sea Color
South Sea
Color is the next factor. Color
is a matter of personal taste.
In the US when referring to
Akoya and South Sea pearls white
rose` and silver rose` are the
most popular. In South America
creamy or golden color is the
most popular. Tahitian pearls
are naturally black or gray. You
may prefer a peacock color (a
rainbow effect of different
shades of black or gray) while I
prefer an aubergene (reddish
black ) color. Remember that
your personal preference in
color might not be the same as
your customers.
Size
Size
is the last factor. If you have
two pearls that are equal in
luster, nacre, surface
imperfections shape and color,
the larger one will be more
valuable. There can be
exceptions and the exceptions
are for pearls that are
unusually large for a pearl
type. For example: a 10MM South
Sea pearl is not considered
large or rare but, a 10 MM Akoya
pearl is. In this case, if both
pearls were of similar quality,
the Akoya pearl would be more
valuable than the South Sea
pearl.
Matching
For
pearl necklaces the overall look
is very important, regardless of
the quality of the individual
pearls. The more uniform and
aesthetically pleasing two or
more pearls look together the
more time was spent matching the
pearls. This time to match
pearls is reflected in the cost.
