We like starting with the bottomline, so here it is:  The "best bang for your buck" pearls are of the round, cultured, freshwater variety.  Nowadays, they are wonderfully round, nearly indistinguishable from saltwater pearls and cost 1/3 to 1/2 the price.

When it comes to buying pearls, just like buying any kind of jewelry, a little knowledge can go a long way.  Pearls have been used as adornment for 6,000 years and have always been a jewelry classic.  Full strands of pearls, single pearl pendants, pearl earring studs, pearl earring dangles, pearl rings and bracelets are just some of the many options in pearl jewelry.  The main question in buying pearls should be, what are the characteristics of a good pearl, and how can I tell a high-quality pearl from a lower-quality pearl?

Pearls, like diamonds and other colored gemstones, have certain characteristics that can be evaluated to determine quality and in turn value.  Just like diamonds have the "4 C's," pearls also have certain characteristics to focus on.

Before getting into those characteristics it is most important to understand there are different kinds of pearls.  Note that there are synthetic pearls of many different types and varieties and they can easily confuse the less-educated buyer. This article’s focus is on buying genuine or cultured pearls, and, therefore, I won’t go into any further detail about synthetic pearls, except how to spot them.

One easy way to know if a pearl is genuine is by doing a tooth test;  try this by rubbing the pearl on your tooth.  If it feels rough or gritty then you know it is most likely a genuine or cultured pearl. Synthetic pearls almost always feel smooth on your tooth. The other important thing to consider is only buying pearls from a trusted source and preferably a source that has knowledge and expertise and can show you different pearl options.

Pearls also come in different varieties.  Pearls are a product of mussels, mainly of the oyster type. They are built up of mother of pearl (nacre). The size of pearls vary from between the size of a pin head to a pigeon’s egg size. The color of the pearl will depend on the type of mollusk and the characteristics of the water in which the mollusk resides.   On the market today there are also many colors of pearls other than the traditional white. Some of these colors are natural color and some colors are achieved through a method of dying the pearl.  Natural color pearls will always be more expensive. Some of these natural colors include golden, black, and pink.

The first variety of pearl is the genuine, or natural, pearls.  These are pearls that come into creation without the intervention of humans. They can occur in the ocean or in freshwater environments, and are generally harvested by divers. Natural pearls can form into all kinds of unusual shapes and aren’t used nearly as often in jewelry as cultured pearls. 

About 90% of the pearls sold today are cultured pearls, or pearls that are naturally created with human assistance. This has been done as early as the 13^th century in China. The principal is very simple. Pearl farmers insert a rounded mother-of-pearl bead from the shell of  a freshwater mussel into the oyster. Once inserted, secretions of nacre then build up on top of the bead over time and eventually are ready to be harvested as a round cultured pearl.   These cultured pearls make up most of the pearls that you will see used in jewelry today.

There are two distinct types of cultured pearls: saltwater and freshwater.  In the past, freshwater pearls were known for their odd shapes and, therefore, were not as popular as saltwater pearls. A few years ago, this started to change and the freshwater pearls started to get a lot more round and have now become a much more prevalent source on the market. It is now very difficult to tell the difference between the two types, but freshwater pearls are a lot less expensive due to the way they are grown. Farmers can implant more than one bead in a freshwater mussel rather than only one bead in saltwater  oyster.  Thus, they can produce more pearls less expensively in freshwater growing. Now it is very popular to see freshwater strands competing with saltwater strands and they sell at much lower prices. There are always different qualities of either type of pearl whether it is freshwater or saltwater.

I would like to conclude by focusing on what to look for as you are comparing pearls:

First, make sure you know what type of pearl you are looking at so you will understand why one might be more expensive than another. For example, when comparing freshwater to saltwater pearls, you will definitely pay more for saltwater pearls even though they may look very close or even identical. 

Second,  if you are comparing colored pearls, you'll need to know if they are natural-color or dyed pearls.  For example, when comparing natural black pearls vs. dyed black pearls, there will be a very big difference in price. Here, it is most important to make sure you are dealing with an honest, knowledgeable jeweler.

Once you know what type of pearl or pearls you are looking at then you want to focus on the features that will determine value. Those features are shape, color, size, imperfections, and luster. When it comes to shape the most valuable is the spherical or round. The more perfectly round the better. Many other interesting and fun shapes exist like button pearls, which are flat on one side and rounded on the other.  Or irregular shaped or baroque pearls, just to name a few, but these will be less expensive. 

Colors can also vary from rose to cream to very white. Color is generally just a preference and usually a person’s skin tone is considered to be a major reason to choose one color over another.

Size is very important. The larger the pearl the more valuable it will be. Pearls are generally measured in millimeters. Smaller pearls would be from 3 to 5mm, medium pearls from 5mm to 8mm and larger pearls 8mm and above. 

Last, but not least is luster. Luster is the brightness or sheen that the pearl has on the surface. Pearls with higher luster will be more valuable.  Also the surface should be free from pits or irregularities. Finally, if you are looking at an item that should have matching pearls like a necklace strand, then how well the pearls match in size, color, luster, and surface cleanness will also factor in value.

Pearls are a fantastic option for jewelry.  It is always fun to have something that was created for you by nature, even if some human intervention was involved. With knowledge gained from this article, hopefully you will find looking for pearls much more interesting and you can feel more confident in finding a good value regardless of what types of pearls you like.

Mike Nixon
William's Jewelers

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