A Guide to Pearls
Pearl Education
An introduction to the pearl types we supply — how each forms, where it comes from, and what sets it apart.
A Brief History of Pearls
Pearls are among the oldest gemstones known to civilisation, treasured since antiquity by cultures from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea long before diamonds took their place as an emblem of luxury. For most of history, every pearl was a natural accident — found by chance inside a wild oyster — which made them extraordinarily rare and valuable. That began to change in the early 1900s, when Japanese pioneers including Kokichi Mikimoto developed techniques for culturing pearls by hand-seeding oysters, making fine pearls accessible for the first time without diminishing their beauty. Today's cultured pearls — including the Australian South Sea, Tahitian, Akoya and Freshwater varieties we supply — are grown using the same essential biological process as their natural counterparts, only with human assistance at the very start.
Judging a Pearl
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Lustre
The sharpness and intensity of light reflected from the surface — the single biggest driver of a pearl's beauty and value.
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Surface
The degree of blemishing. Cleaner surfaces, with fewer marks or spots, command higher grades.
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Shape
From perfectly round to drop, button and baroque. Rounder is rarer; baroque offers character and value.
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Colour
Body colour and overtone — from white and silver through gold, and the natural blacks of Tahitian pearls.
Australian South Sea Pearls
South Sea pearls are cultivated from oysters found around North Western Australia and South East Asia. Thick in nacre, they are the largest of any cultured pearl. These jewels of the ocean appear in silver and gold hues, as well as cream, pink and pure white, and typically range from 8mm to 20mm. All of our Australian South Sea pearls are genuine and have never been treated in any way.
Judging Australian South Sea Pearls
The sharpness and intensity of light reflected from the surface — the single biggest driver of a pearl’s beauty and value.
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
The degree of blemishing. Cleaner surfaces, with fewer marks or spots, command higher grades.
Clean
Lightly Spotted
Moderately Spotted
Heavily Spotted
From perfectly round to drop, button, circle and baroque. Rounder is rarer; baroque offers character and value.
Round
Button
Drop
Oval
Baroque
Circle
Body colour and overtone — natural variation, not a mark of quality. Colour never affects price.
Gold
Champagne
Cream
White
Rose
Silver/Grey
Akoya Pearls
Akoya pearls come from the salt waters of Japan and are prized for their exceptional lustre and mirror-bright shine. Because the oyster is small, they are rare and usually found between 2mm and 9mm. Akoya pearls are typically white or cream with a rose, cream or ivory overtone; some are also treated to a black colour.
Judging Akoya Pearls
The sharpness and intensity of light reflected from the surface — the single biggest driver of a pearl’s beauty and value.
The degree of blemishing. Cleaner surfaces, with fewer marks or spots, command higher grades.
From perfectly round to drop, button, circle and baroque. Rounder is rarer; baroque offers character and value.
Body colour and overtone — natural variation, not a mark of quality. Colour never affects price.
White
Black
Keshi Pearls
Occasionally, when a mollusc is opened at harvest, a non-nucleated pearl is found. Keshi are not deliberately cultured but occur as a by-product of the culturing process, when an oyster spontaneously produces a pearl around an irritant. Virtually all nacre, most often irregular in shape yet very lustrous, the keshi is a true one-of-a-kind gem of nature.
Tahitian Pearls
Tahitian pearls come from the warm, pristine waters around Tahiti and other French Polynesian islands. Produced by the black-lipped oyster, they are the only pearls to achieve a naturally black body colour and are typically large, from 7mm to 20mm. Though often called “black pearls”, they are found in a wide range of colours through grey, silver, blue and purple — and come to you straight from nature in their purest form.
Judging Tahitian Pearls
The sharpness and intensity of light reflected from the surface — the single biggest driver of a pearl’s beauty and value.
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
The degree of blemishing. Cleaner surfaces, with fewer marks or spots, command higher grades.
Clean
Lightly Spotted
Moderately Spotted
Heavily Spotted
From perfectly round to drop, button, circle and baroque. Rounder is rarer; baroque offers character and value.
Round
Off-Round
Button
Oval
Drop
Circle
Semi-Baroque
Baroque
Body colour and overtone — natural variation, not a mark of quality. Colour never affects price.
Blue
Green
Black
Peacock
Silver
Light Green
Mabe Pearls
Our South Sea mabe pearls form on the inside of the mollusc shell rather than within the tissue, grown around a hemispherical bead glued to the inner shell and later cut away. The unique nacre of the mabe oyster produces brilliant, rainbow-like hues and superior lustre.
Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls are created by implanting the mollusc with tissue alone and no bead, so the pearl is made entirely of nacreous layers. This gives a beautiful lustre and a durable surface that will not crack or peel to reveal an inner bead. They occur in a diverse range of natural colours — white, cream, pink, peach, rose, lavender and purple — and can also be dyed in fashion colours. Freshwater pearls offer a lustrous finish at a fraction of the cost of Akoya and smaller South Sea pearls.
Judging Freshwater Pearls
The sharpness and intensity of light reflected from the surface — the single biggest driver of a pearl’s beauty and value.
The degree of blemishing. Cleaner surfaces, with fewer marks or spots, command higher grades.
From perfectly round to drop, button, circle and baroque. Rounder is rarer; baroque offers character and value.
Body colour and overtone — natural variation, not a mark of quality. Colour never affects price.
White
Black
Pink
General Guidance
Caring for Your Pearls
Pearls are organic gems, softer and more delicate than most other jewellery stones, so a little care keeps them looking their best for generations. This applies across all pearl types — South Sea, Tahitian, Akoya, Freshwater, Mabe and Keshi alike.
- Last on, first off. Put pearls on after applying perfume, hairspray and cosmetics, and remove them before undressing or showering — chemicals and moisture can dull their lustre over time.
- Wipe after wear. A soft, dry or slightly damp cloth removes body oils and perspiration before storing.
- Store separately. Keep pearls in a soft pouch or lined box, away from harder gemstones that can scratch them.
- Avoid extremes. Don't leave pearls in direct sunlight, a hot car, or a very dry environment such as a safe — they contain natural moisture and can become brittle if dried out.
- Skip the ultrasonic cleaner. Clean only with a soft cloth; harsh chemicals and ultrasonic jewellery cleaners can damage the nacre.
- Restring periodically. Strands worn often should be restrung roughly every one to two years, individually knotted between each pearl for both protection and security.