| When it comes to buying pearls, every one is | | | | grading from A to AAA. Many jewelers or online |
| looking for quality but quality in general comes | | | | stores claim to offer AAAA quality pearls, which |
| with a price. First of all, it is important to know | | | | are simply false. It is an advertisement trick to |
| what quality is? There are four types of pearls | | | | woo customers in making them believe that they |
| such as freshwater pearls, akoya pearls or akoya | | | | are buying highest quality pearls, whereas in fact |
| seawater pearls; Tahitian pearls and South sea | | | | they may be getting lower quality pearls and |
| pearls and each of these types have different | | | | paying higher price. |
| quality grades. | | | | The most commonly used and internationally |
| When pearls are finally taken out of oysters at | | | | recognized grading system by the pearl jewelry |
| their final growth stage, they are hand-sorted | | | | industry in general is A to AAA to determine the |
| according to size, shape and the surface quality. | | | | true pearl value. In the early 20th Century, Kokichi |
| Normally bigger the size, higher is the price, round | | | | Mikimoto of Japan had more or less led these |
| shape command higher value than off round or | | | | grading standards. Strict adherence is often |
| potato shapes. Similarly surface of any pearl is | | | | difficult when matching in a pearl strand. But this |
| noticed for its blemishes and spots. Very clean | | | | alphanumeric ranking alone does not have much |
| and without any blemishes, of course weight high | | | | of significance to a customer and often puzzling, |
| in quality grading. Finally comes the nacre (the | | | | as most importantly, one should look for clean |
| iridescent internal layer of a mollusk shell) and the | | | | surface, good lustrous quality and color. Identify |
| luster. Thicker the nacre and high in luster, pearls | | | | the type of pearls you are interested in, such as |
| typically valued high in value. Luster is the hallmark | | | | Freshwater pearls, Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls |
| of any pearl type, as no woman would like to | | | | or South Sea pearls as each of these types |
| wear dull luster quality pearls. No matter if it is | | | | come from different type of oysters family and |
| Japanese akoya pearls or Tahitian and South sea | | | | are grown under varying climatic conditions and |
| pearls, luster is the king here. | | | | command different prices. |
| Although there is no institution or authority or | | | | Buying high grade quality pearl jewelry no matter |
| organization who have laid any set standard of | | | | which type of pearls, gets your money's worth |
| pearl grading but on the whole pearl jewelry | | | | manifold overtime. |
| industry over many years have been using pearl | | | | |