How to choose your cultured pearl

The 5 criteria to keep in mind while choosing cultured pearl jewelry

The pearl's shine 

It depends on the mother-or-pearl's thickness around the nucleus, and its quality. The more intense the shine, the more the pearl is valuable.

The pearl's size

A pearl's size is given in millimeters (mm). For cultured pearls, it varies between 2 and 20mm, depending on the type of pearl. The bigger the pearl, the more valuable it is.

The pearl's shape

Cultured pearls are classified very roughly as round, symetric, or baroque. Round pearls are more valuable than symetrical, non-round pearls, which are themselves more valuable than baroque pearls.
Perfectly round pearl are extremely rare.

Three round Tahitian pearls on a silver pendant

The pearl's surface quality

A pearl's surface is rarely perfect. Due to the nature of how pearls are created, they can show flaws.
The more the pearl is flawed, the less it is valuable.

Read our article on classification for more information about surface quality.

The pearl's color

A pearl's color depends of the type of pearl it is.

Freshwater cultured pearls and Japanese Akoya pearls will often be white, while Australian pearls more of a golden color. Tahitian pearls are the most varied, with only the rarer nuances and colors, like blue, peacock and aubergine being considered more valuable.

The pristine white color of  freshwater cultured pearls

Once you establish what color, shape, and size, choosing a pearl is as simple as looking for the type of pearl you want, such as Australian, freshwater or Tahitian, then adapting your desires with your budget.

Poemana uses exclusively good quality pearls, the majority being given an AA+ to AAA grade according to the GIA system, and only a few pieces of jewelry using AA quality pearls.

Remember that once you have your jewelry, it is best to take some simple precautions to avoid damaging the pearls, and to once in a while clean it.
Read our guide on how to preserve your pearl.