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Jewelry Info Center > Pearl Jewelry Guide
Pearl Jewelry Guide
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here to see our selection of Pearl Jewelry .
There are a few thing you should look for when buying
pearls:
1) Lustre: Lustre is a combination of surface
brilliance and a deep-seated glow. The lustre of a good quality
pearl should be bright and not dull. You should be able to
see your own reflection clearly on the surface of a pearl.
Any pearl that appears too white, dull or chalky indicates
low quality.
2) Surface: Cleanliness refers to the absence of
disfiguring spots, bumps or cracks on the surface of a pearl.
The cleaner the surface of the pearl, the more valuable.
3) Shape: Since cultured pearls are grown by oysters
in nature, it is very rare to find a perfectly round pearl.
However, the rounder the pearl, the more valuable it is. Baroque
pearls, which are asymmetrical in shape, can be lustrous and
appealing, and often cost less than round pearls.
4) Color: Cultured pearls come in a variety of colors
from rose to black. While the color of a pearl is really a
matter of the wearer's preference, usually rosé or
silver/white pearls tend to look best on fair skins while
cream and gold toned pearls are flattering to darker complexions.
5) Size: Cultured pearls are measured by their diameter
in millimeters. They can be smaller than one millimeter in
the case of tiny seed pearls, or as large as twenty millimeters
for a big South Sea pearl. The larger the pearl, other factors
being equal, the more valuable it will be. The average sized
pearl sold today is between 7 and 7-1/2 millimeters.
6) Pearls come in two types Cultured and Natural.
The only difference is the Natural Pearls happen naturally
and Cultured Pearls are initiated by man. The only sure way
to tell the difference between a natural and cultured pearl
is by using an X-ray machine.
For more information on the various types of Pearls see our
article on Types of Pearls.
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