| Great question | | | | Good luster also means the pearl will last longer |
| And the answer is... | | | | because the quality is directly related to the |
| You can spend $15.00 for a necklace of genuine | | | | thickness of the nacre. The thicker the nacre, the |
| freshwater cultured pearls made from slightly | | | | better the luster and the longer the pearl will last |
| round freshwater pearls, or a record braking price | | | | because thin nacre equals short life. Thin nacre |
| for a necklace made of record breaking size | | | | can quickly peel or chip. |
| South Sea pearls from 16mm to 20mm that sold | | | | The experts will base 70% of their appraised |
| at Sotheby's for $2,310,000.00 But here is the | | | | value on luster. |
| thing, you can buy a perfect, round, matched, | | | | As much as 30% more can go towards shape. |
| Freshwater Cultured Lavender Necklace and | | | | Since pearls can be shaped like a rice crispy to |
| spend $10,000.00. or more And if one were to | | | | near perfect roundness. And a perfectly round |
| buy a Cultured South Sea Pearl necklace of milky, | | | | pearl is a rare pearl. And rarity equals high price. |
| pitted, non-round pearls, $100.00 might be paying | | | | Since many of the not-round freshwater pearls |
| too much. So how do you estimate pearl necklace | | | | have such fantastic luster, at times roundness is |
| cost? | | | | not given as much value. |
| The experts agree that "luster" is the most | | | | Color is relatively important, because color is |
| important trait to consider when buying pearls. | | | | subjective. Color is not as easy to objectively |
| Buy the pearl with the best luster, before insisting | | | | measure as luster or shape. Color is unique to the |
| on perfect roundness. | | | | type of pearl, and colors are somewhat trend |
| You should know the answer to this before | | | | oriented. What may be in style now may be out |
| buying. And it is not a difficult question to answer. | | | | of style next year. Color is a complete study in |
| Experts say Luster is the single characteristic | | | | itself. |
| unique to a pearl. It is the quality of the Luster | | | | All of the value factors go into the estimation of |
| that gives the pearl its radiant glow. Pearls are not | | | | the cost of a pearl necklace. So do a little |
| merely shiny. Pearls have glow that comes from | | | | research and you will know how much that pearl |
| light reflecting off of the many layers of nacre. A | | | | necklace costs. |
| beautiful pearl will have a great luster that glows. | | | | |