South Sea Pearls are from Pinctada maxima – a large oyster also famous as the silver-lip or yellow-lip (gold-lip) oyster depends on the color of its skin /shell lip. They are widely cultured in the ocean areas of the Indian and Pacific, as well as Myanmer, Philippines, Indonesia, and Northern Australia areas.
South sea pearls color varies white to golden. The size of the South sea pearl usually large than 9mm, at times can reach 19mm.
South Sea Pearls Grading System:
| South Sea Pearls Grading |
Round |
| AAA |
luster : Excellent ; Blemish : 98% - 100% Free ; Smoothness : Very Good ;
Nacre : Very Thick ; |
| AA+ |
luster : Excellent ; Blemish : 95% - 98% Free ; Smoothness : Very Good ;
Nacre : Very Thick ; |
| AA |
luster : Good ; Blemish : 90% - 95% Free ; Smoothness : Good ;
Nacre : Thick ; |
| A+ |
luster : Moderate to Good ; Blemish : 85% - 90% Free ; Smoothness : Good ;
Nacre : Moderate to Thick ; |
| A |
luster : Moderate ; Blemish : 80% - 85% Free ; Smoothness : Moderate ;
Nacre : Moderate ; |
South Sea Pearl Value:
South Sea pearl value can estimated using these 6 qualities:
- South Sea pearl Nacre
- South Sea pearl Luster
- South Sea pearl Surface
- South Sea pearl Shapes
- Tahitian pearl Color
- South Sea pearl Size
South Sea pearl Luster and Nacre
Luster and Nacre are significant features for evaluating South Sea pearl price.
White South Sea pearls luster potential is comparatively lesser than Akoya pearls and Tahitian Pearls.
South Sea pearls nowadays should have a nacre thickness of no less than 1mm of the radius. The nacre thickness can be calculated in the X-ray photograph or by approximately estimating from the drilled-hole.
South Sea pearl Surface
South Sea pearls are evaluated against the flaws of the percentage of the shell area. South Sea pearls cultivation period takes 1.5 to 2 years. Hence only few South Sea pearls have perfect surface without any defects. The cost of the perfect south sea pearls will be above thousand dollars per piece.
South Sea pearl Shapes
Culturing a high-quality pearl is in fact a difficult task. We need to be careful to get a perfect round shaped pearl. Otherwise this pearl will not reside in the oyster for too long; if not, it will be irregular. But if the pearl reside in the oyster for a small time, its nacre will also be thin and also to make the pearl high quality.
In view of the fact that South Sea Pearls will stay in the oyster for a long period, we can’t even recognize when to harvest. And their shapes are much more different from Akoya pearls.
South Sea pearl will be in: round, off-round, drop, oval, button, acorn, pear, triangle, circle and baroque shapes.
Sometimes, if you want to purchase a South Sea pearl with a restricted budget, you must compromise about their shape; as a getting a circular shaped and perfect South Sea pearl is very tough. Its value might be extreme high beyond your budget.
Tahitian pearl Color
The color of South Sea pearls differs as per the oyster of that particular pearl comes from. The Northern Australian oyster is silver-lip oyster which have a tendency to generate white south sea pearls with silver overtone.
The gold-lip oyster which is usually found in sea area of south-east Asia, round Indonesia, Thailand and Philippine generates yellow or creamy South Sea Pearl.
Among these bright, rich, colored and lively south sea pearls, pink, white and golden South Sea Pearls are most expensive. Creamy Pearls are for a lower price. According to the overtone, silver, pink overtone these pearls are more prized than overtone of bluish-gray or green.
South Sea pearl Size
South Sea Pearls normally range in size from 9 - 19 mm. So far, the world’s biggest round South Sea pearl is 24 mm.
Since the big sized South Sea pearl, the graduated threads aren’t usually sold in 1/2 mm increments as Akoya pearls. The difference between the largest pearl and the smallest pearl is around 2mm on one thread. Subsequent to all, a thread of beautiful South Sea pearls will be very luxurious and deserve a special service. |
