How to Judge a Pearl’s Quality

The type of pearl is perhaps the most basic factor to consider: whether the pearl is a freshwater pearl, an akoya pearl, a South Sea pearl, or some other variety. Each type of pearl is created by a different species of oyster, usually living in a different region of the world and under varying climatic conditions. All of these factors have an impact on the characteristics of the resulting pearl.

Here are some tips on how to judge a freshwater pearl’s quality:

Shape

Very few pearls actually come out of an oyster in perfect round shape. But they can be cultivated: After nucleation, oysters are moored to rafts in quiet bays, where they’re cleaned regularly to encourage the pearl to develop as a perfect sphere.

Size

Important, but not exclusively so. A perfectly formed smaller pearl might fetch a higher price than a slightly flawed larger one. If all else is equal, the larger pearl will be the more valuable. Unlike diamonds, pearls are not static gems; they are “alive” and can change with time, so caring for them is crucial.

Color

The color of a pearl is a function of the oyster and its nacre, although dye can be added to certain varieties after harvesting. Blinding white is still the most prized, but there’s plenty of choice, from rare gold and Tahitian “black” pearls to less costly freshwater pearls, which come in everything from pale tangerine to frosty pink.

Luster

The main factor in making a pearl shine is nacre—calcium-carbonate crystals secreted by oysters to form the inside of their shells. A sphere of mother-of-pearl from a United States freshwater mollusk is implanted in an oyster’s sex organs, where it’s hard to expel. If the oyster accepts the implant, it produces thousands of layers of nacre in an attempt to soothe the irritation.

Orient

While luster refers to the surface layers of nacre, the deeper glow of a pearl is derived from light refracted by the staggered layers of nacre crystals—each just microns thick—farther inside. A pearl with fiery orient seems to glow from within.

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