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Ecole de gemmologie
 

  Pearl Types
  When buying Pearls, the customer is presented with terminology they are not always familiar with.

  Akoya, Freshwater, Tahitian, South Sea... What do all these mean? In order to make the best decision

  when buying pearls, it is important to know the differences between these type of pearls and why some are

  more expensive than others.

  South Sea Pearls
 South Sea Pearls are primarily cultured in the waters of Australia, the Philippines and

 Indonesia.

 Some will mistakenly include pearls found from the waters of Tahiti and French Polynesia

 and call them Black South Sea Pearls. The distinction between these two types of pearls

 are the oyster they are cultivated in. The South Sea Pearls are cultured in the silver or gold

 -lipped pearl oyster and the color of the South Sea

   Pearls are usually white or silver colored, but they can also come in shades of yellow or blue-gray with pink

   or green overtones.

   The gold-lipped pearl oyster used to culture these pearls (Pinctada maxima) is the world's largest pearl

   mother and is considered by experts to produce the best pearls in the world.

   The sizes of the pearls produced range in size from 10 to 20 millimeters, though pearls larger than 16

   millimeters are rare. Their rarity and exceptional sizes make them highly prized.

   These are some of the largest and most expensive pearls available.

  Tahitian Pearls or Black South Sea Pearls
 Sometimes referred to as Black South Sea Pearls, 'Tahitian pearls' are cultured in areas

 stretching from the Cook Islands, eastward through Tahiti to the Tuamotu Archipelago and

 the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia.

 The are grown in the black-lipped pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera) found in the atolls of

 these areas.

 The colors produced vary widely from purple, green, black and shades from gray to cream

   and even white.

   The rarest and highly sought after color is "peacock green" - the greenish black color of a peacock feather.

   Black Tahitian pearls are generally smaller than the White South Sea Pearls ranging in size from

   7 to 15 millimeters.

  Akoya or Japanese Pearls
 Probably the most well known name of a pearl type from the Akoya oyster

 (Pinctada fucata martensil).

 Most akoya pearls are still produced in Japan but now some are also grown on an

 increasing scale in China and India.

 The akoya pearl oyster measures only six to nine centimeters across - less than half

 the size of Australia's silver-lipped pearl oyster. Smaller nuclei are implanted so the

   resulting pearls range from 2 to 10 millimeters in diameter.

  Freshwater Pearls
 Freshwater Pearls are small, sometimes irregularly shaped pearls that are grown in various

 species of freshwater mussel. The colors range from pink, gray or black, bronze, lavender,

 to white.

 Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels for the same reason that saltwater pearls occur

 in oysters. Foreign material, usually a sharp object or parasite, enters a mussel and

cannot be expelled.

   To reduce irritation, the mollusk coats the intruder with the same secretion it uses for shell-building, nacre.

   To culture freshwater pearls, the shell of the mussels are slightly opened, small slits are cut into the mantle

   tissue and small pieces of live tissue from another mussel is inserted into those slits.

   The shape of the nucleus and its position in the mussel determines the shape of the cultured pearl.

   The shapes recovered include rounds, pears, eggs, drops, buttons, dome, and baroques.

   Most cultured freshwater pearls are composed entirely of nacre which leads to their high luster and quality.

   The pearls are nursed for up to three years to achieve their luster and quality, a distinct trademark of our

   Cultured pearls and Freshwater pearls.

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 Black Tahitian Pearls Akoyo Pearls South Sea Pearls

 The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO)
 Cultured Pearl Information Center
 The Gemological Institute of America
 The International Colored Gemstone Association
 Museum of Mineralogy at the Ecoles des Mines de Paris
 Tahiti Investment promotion agency
 Tahitian Pearl Department
 GIE Tahiti Tourisme
 Canadian Institute of Gemmology
 Pearl Sales Training University