Pearl Quality Factors

Pearl Luster
Luster is the single most important quality factor when evaluating natural and cultured pearls. Luster is the degree of shine that reflects from the surface of a pearl and from within a pearl when light travels through the outer layers of nacre and is reflected from within.

Pearl Nacre Thickness
Nacre thickness is a grading criteria only applied to bead-nucleated saltwater pearls and rare bead-nucleated freshwater pearls. Nacre is the substance of which a pearl is composed. It is the calcium carbonate compound that coats the grafted mother of pearl bead. The thicker the nacre the better and longer lasting the pearl will be.

Pearl Nacre Quality
Nacre quality is determined by how well light passes through the many layers of nacre which compose the pearl. If the pearl nacre quality is poor the pearl will have a chalky reflection. Poor nacre quality can result by chance (an overabundance of the calcium carbonate polymorph, vaterite), adverse environmental conditions, poor farming techniques, or poor processing methods.

Pearl Color
Pearl color assessment involves determining two elements that make up the color of a pearl; the body color and the overtone. The body color is the primary color of a pearl. This is very often white, yellow, lavender, peach, black, or green. The overtone is the secondary color that tends to float over the surface of the pearl. It is also referred to as the tint. Some colors and overtones are considered more valuable than others. But it is always best to select the color or overtone that best fits one's personal style or taste

Pearl Surface Perfection
Determining the surface perfection of a cultured pearl involves examining the surface or "skin" of the pearl to determine whether or not it is free from spots, cracks, dimples, bumps, or any other inclusions. Surface perfection is graded by the percentage of skin area free from any imperfections.

Pearl Shape
Pearl shape can be divided into three general categories; spherical, symmetrical, or baroque. A spherical pearl is typically the most valuable, and is graded by degree of sphericity. A pearl may be slightly off-round and still be considered spherical. A symmetrical pearl may be off-round, drop, button, or circled, but will maintain a single axis of symmetry. A baroque pearl is a pearl that is not round and does not have an axis of symmetry.

Pearl Size
When all other grading factors are equal, the larger the pearl, the more valuable it is. Pearls are measured in millimeter sizes perpendicular to the drill hole.

Pearl Grading

Grading Overview
The cultured pearl industry has two primary grading systems that are accepted and considered standard which include the A-AAA system and the A-D system, also known as the Tahitian grading system.

PearlStruck.com grades all pearls by the A-AAA Pearl Grading System. We only offer AA to AAA quality cultured pearl jewelry. PearlStruck.com does not use superfluous grades such as AAA+ or AAAA. We consider this practice unethical. We do however recognize certified exceptional grades such as hanadama and freshadama.

AAA
The highest quality cultured pearl. Very high luster, with over 95% of the pearl surface free from any type of defect.

AA
High luster with at least 75% of the pearl surface free from defect.

A
Medium luster with more than 25% of the pearl surface showing defects. The use of '+' in addition to either A or AA is acceptable to indicate the quality of the pearl falls between two pearl grades. It is not considered an acceptable practice to add '+' to the highest grade of AAA.