Pearls Necklace Price & 7 Important Factors on Pearl Grading

Pearls Necklace Price & Factors on Pearl : Luster, Size, Surface, Shape, Colors, Nacre Thickness, Matching

1. Pearl Luster

(sometimes spelled “lustre”) is the queen of value. As mentioned before, this is the shine or the reflection that your eye observes when light hits the surface of the pearl. Look for sharpness of reflections; the light source should appear as tight and clear as possible.

2. Pearl Size

All things else being equal, the larger the pearl, the better and the more expensive. It takes a long time for an oyster to produce larger pearls, and there are fewer of them. Big pearls with high luster are rarer still and command higher prices. See the sections below for the size ranges to expect for each species of pearl.

3. Pearl Surface Quality

Just like most diamonds have natural “inclusions”, most pearls have natural surface characteristics, which may appear on the pearl’s surface as “dots” or “dashes”. Ideally, the fewer of these that you see, the better. Surface marks like these are very, very common, and are the result of a natural process over which pearl farmer has little or no control. Therefore, perfectly clean pearls are very rare and expensive. Just keep in mind that, like most things in life, marks tend to obvious only when you’re looking for them, but often are not even noticeable when the pearls are worn.

4. Pearl Shape

There are several ideal shapes: round, tear-drop, and baroque (free-form). In general, the closer a pearl is to one of these ideal shapes, the better and more valuable it is. For example, if the look of the pearl seems to be round, it should be as round as possible. Rounds used to be considered the most valuable, but these days a nice dropshape or baroque-shape can cost as much or more as a round, depending on how it will be used.

Pearl Necklace Price — source: Pearls Necklace Price

5. Pearl Color

The primary color you observe in the pearl is called “body color”. In addition, some pearl species also exhibit additional minor colors as overtones or orient. More on this later. While there is no wrong color, some colors are considered more desirable than others, depending on the species of pearl.

6. Pearl Nacre Thickness

When the nucleus is inserted into an oyster to create a pearl, the oyster responds by coating the nucleus with layer upon layer of a substance called conchiolin, or nacre. The thicker the nacre, the bigger and more durable the pearl will be. Pearls with thin nacre may show cracks or chipping around the drill holes, and should always be avoided.

7. Pearl Matching.

When looking at multiple pearls which will be worn together, be sure that they look beautiful together! As a general rule, pearls worn together should be similar with regards to each Value Factor described above. This is especially true for luster. The many exceptions to the rule are designs for “artistic liberty”. For example, a multicolor strand will by definition have more than one color. Some people love subtle ranges of color or size, which is perfectly acceptable, too. Remember, it’s the overall “look” that is most important. – source: Pearls Necklace Price
Related Articles: