Pearl quality must be appraised by humans, making appraisal a necessarily subjective process, and there is not yet a common international standard ranking system for pearl quality. While understandable, this unfortunately complicates things for buyers such as yourself: for example, our company’s AA pearls may significantly differ in quality from the "AA" pearls being sold by another company. It is simply impossible to judge pearl quality by alphanumeric ranking alone.

 

Two major grading systems are in fairly widespread use: the 'AAA-A Grading System' and the 'A-D Grading System' - also called the Tahitian grading system. These are the most universally accepted standardised systems, and are used by nearly all reputable retail and wholesale pearl dealers.

Twelve Pearls use these grading systems.

So when comparing our pearls to another store, you need to be aware of these differing grading systems. Knowing this and comparing with a store of similar standards, our AA will most likely be their AAA. This is assuming their pearls are of a comparable high quality. Some sellers do not have access to top quality pearls and may grade some pearls AAA when they are nowhere near the best available and have additional grades such as AAA+.

This is one of the reasons we offer a 90 day money back guarantee. It not only gives you peace of mind that you are purchasing a quality product, but we are also very confident that if you compare our pearls to others personally, you will recognize the quality and correct grading.

Is there such a thing as a perfect pearl?

Strictly speaking, it is quite rare to find a pearl free of blemishes, as the oysters which produce the pearls are living creatures. A pearl's blemishes are therefore judged by how easily they can be detected, and of course, the fewer, the better. Usually, a pearl is deemed satisfactory if there are no detectable blemishes from a distance of approximately 1 foot (30cm). As always, though, it is best to think in terms of total balance, rather than emphasize any single criterion.

THE AAA-A PEARL GRADING SYSTEM (Freshwater & Akoya)

This system grades pearls on a scale from AAA to A, with AAA being the highest grade, this grading scale is common to freshwater and akoya pearls only, but is accepted by many South Sea and Tahitian pearl dealers. The AAA to A grades are as follows:

• AAA: Virtually flawless pearl. Surface luster is very high , and 95% of surface will be free from any defect.
• AA: The surface will have a very high luster, and at least 75% of the surface will be free from any type of defect.
• A: The lowest jewelry-grade pearl, with low surface luster and/or more than 25% of the surface showing defects.

THE A-D PEARL GRADING SYSTEM (Tahitian & South Sea)

This grading system grades pearls on a scale from A to D, with A being the highest grade. This system is used in French Polynesia to grade Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls only. This is why it is referred to as the "Tahitian system." While this system is standard in producing countries, other markets will use the AAA-A System.

• A: Highest-quality pearl, very high luster and only minor imperfections over less than 10% of its surface.
• B: High or medium luster. Surface may have some visible imperfections over no more than 30% of its surface area.
• C: Medium luster with surface defects over not more than 60% of the surface area.
• D: May have many slight defects over 60% of surface or deep defects over no more than 60% of surface.

Pearls of the 'D' variety may have a combination of minor and deep defects over no more than 60% of its surface. In this grade of pearl, the luster is irrelevant. Even the most lustrous pearls will be graded 'D' if their surface ares is blemished to this extent.

Pearls below 'D' grade are considered not acceptable for use in jewelry.

Both of these grading systems focus primarily on the luster and surface quality of the pearl to determine its grade. There are however, other factors that contribute to the quality and value of any pearl.

One of the most important non-graded factors is the thickness of the nacre, which will determine how durable the pearl will be over time. The thicker the nacre, the longer-lasting and more durable the pearl. For Tahitian pearls, the government of French Polynesia has set a minimum nacre thickness of 0.8 millimeters. Any pearls with nacre of less than that thickness are not allowed to be sold.

VALUE FACTORS

Over the past 100 years, discoveries in pearl culturing have revolutionized the industry, all but completely replacing natural pearls with cultured pearls. By the end of the 20th century, several types of cultured pearls were being produced in an overwhelming variety of colours, shapes, and sizes.

In response, GIA (Gemmological Institute of America) sought to create a standard for pearl grading and terminology--much as it had with diamonds in the 1950s. Its pearl-grading system, launched in 1998, was based on GIA's 7 Pearl Value Factors(TM): size, shape, colour, luster, surface quality, nacre quality, and matching.

Size

Pearl size is measured in millimeters. Typically, all other factors being equal, a larger pearl of a certain type is more expensive than a smaller one.

Shape

There are three main categories to pearl shape: spherical, symmetrical, and baroque. An example of a symmetrical pearl is an oval, while baroque pearls are irregular in shape.

Colour

With cultured pearls, look at bodycolour and, if present, overtone. Bodycolour is the dominant colour of the pearl, while overtone refers to one or more translucent colours that overlie the bodycolour (like blush on a woman's cheek). A third component of some pearls' colour is orient. When present, it looks like a moving iridescence on or just below a pearl's surface.

Luster

This is the intensity of light reflected from a pearl's surface. In general, more lustrous pearls will have a higher value. GIA uses the terms excellent, good, and fair to describe luster on cultured pearls.

Surface Quality

This factor looks at the blemishes, or surface irregularities, on a pearl. Typical blemishes include bumps, abrasions, and spots; the visibility of the irregularities will affect the cost. Very few pearls, however, are completely free of blemishes.

Nacre Quality

Fine nacre quality means that a cultured pearl has a reasonable thickness of nacre around the nucleus as well as a high luster.

Matching

This is the uniformity of appearance in strands and multi-pearl pieces of jewelry, and is judged by the consistency of all of the above factors.