Shop by Style Studs Dangle Clip-on. Style Studs Dangle Clip-on. Shop Pendants. By Color White Black Gold. Shop Rings. Shop Bracelets. Shop Pearl Sets. By Type Akoya Freshwater. About Us. Founder's Story. About Our Prices. Contact Us. How to Buy Pearls. Pearl Grading. Do they feel gritty or have resistance?
They may be real. This final test is usually all that is needed to spot even the best fakes vs. If you don't want to rub the pearls against your teeth, you can rub two pearls together. If they're real you should still feel a subtle grittiness to them. Below is a small collection of pictures featuring cultured pearls. As you can see the sizes, shapes and colors possible is almost endless. Not Sure Where to Start? Shop by Style Studs Dangle Clip-on.
Style Studs Dangle Clip-on. Shop Pendants. By Color White Black Gold. Shop Rings. Shop Bracelets. Shop Pearl Sets. By Type Akoya Freshwater. About Us. Founder's Story. About Our Prices. Contact Us. How to Buy Pearls. Pearl Grading. When buying jewelry or any expensive product we like to think that the item gains in value instead of losing value over time. Experts typically recommend avoiding jewelry for investment, but sometimes it can be a good choice. Not all pearl jewelry retains or grows in value.
But rare or unique types of pearls can grow in worth and sell for more than you bought it for. Case in point are the many examples of vintage pearl jewelry that sell at high prices even today. Takeaway: Pearls can retain their value but may not be the best way to invest your money.
A great way to start your search for the best pearls for you is to consider your budget. The most expensive pearl ever sold at auction is the La Peregrina, or the Wanderer, which once belonged to famed actress Elizabeth Taylor. The necklace sold for over 11 million USD in making it the most expensive pearl. However, the most expensive pearl today is the unnamed giant clam pearl that was found off the coast of an island in the Philippines. Valued at a million dollars, this pound, inch long pearl is by far the largest pearl we know of.
You may also like. Now this is tricky. This is the rarest shape in both cultured and natural pearls. One thing you might not realise is that saltwater pearls like Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian are more likely to be round than freshwater pearls. Because in saltwater pearls a round bead is inserted to encourage pearl to grow into a round shape whereas a piece of tissue is used in freshwater pearl cultivation. Now you can see - it is much rarer for a natural pearl to form a perfectly round shape than its cultured counterpart.
When other value factors are equal, the second most valuable shape is near-round, and then followed next in value by other symmetrical shapes like oval, button, drop and baroque. Are large pearls always more valuable? Not always. Pearl size cannot be valued on its own and must be judged by taking pearl type into account. Generally speaking, when you compare sizes within the same pearl type, the larger the pearl is, the more valuable it is when all other value factors are the same.
However, it is not true when valuating pearls of different varieties. As shown in the image below, you can easily see the difference in pearl sizes when you compare the size of the Tahitian oyster shell against that of the akoya pearl-bearing oyster.
It is much rarer, for instance, to have a 10mm akoya pearl than a 10mm South Sea pearl. If all the other quality factors are equal, this akoya pearl would command a higher price than the South Sea pearl of the same size. For round pearls, the size is determined by measuring the diameter of a drilled pearl perpendicular to the drill hole.
For pearls of any other shapes, the size is made up of measurements for lengths, widths or depths. Pearl sizes are usually expressed in millimetres and rounded to the nearest 0.
In other words, it shows how bright and shiny a pearl is. Pearl lustre is considered the most important quality attribute of all the 7 pearl value factors. Fine quality pearls will always display high lustre with bright and sharp reflections. When other value factors are the same, the higher the lustre, the more valuable the pearl is. The lustre of some fine quality pearls can be so intense that it is almost metallic.
The quality of pearl lustre is directly linked with its nacre quality. During the pearl formation process, layers upon layers of nacre are slowly deposited inside the shell. Thick nacre with tight and uniform construction usually leads to high pearl lustre. Nacre quality is also a key indicator of durability.
The thicker the nacre is, the more lustrous and durable the pearl is. Hence the value goes up. In the case of saltwater cultured pearls, bead nuclei are used in the pearl cultivation process. Therefore, those with thin nacre usually diminish in value. They often have poor lustre and are not durable.
As an organic gem, nearly all cultured and natural pearls have some degree of imperfections such as bumps, pits, scratches, spots, and wrinkles on their surface. Blemish-free pearls are extremely rare. So the fewer and less visible blemishes a pearl has, the higher its value when all the other value factors are equal.
Pearls that have no blemishes at all or contain very tiny surface characteristics that are not visible without using special equipment are said to have Clean Surface. The more uniform the pearls are in a piece of jewellery based on these five value factors, the higher value the piece commands. One thing to bear in mind — some jewellery intentionally mismatches pearls to achieve a specific look. What matters in this case is the visual harmony of the design rather than the uniformity mentioned above.
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