Glossary of Pearl Terms
Pearl terms can be a bit confusing. Here’s a list of common pearl terms.
- Acid Test – A destructive test used to measure of a natural or cultured pearl. This is not recommended for valuable pearls
- Baroque – An irregular asymmetrical pearl shape
- Bead Pearl – A cultured pearl that starts with a bead inserted into a oyster or musselz
- Bleaching – Whitening treatment applied most often to freshwater pearls
- Cultured Pearl – Human assisted pearl creation by insertion of a bead or tissue into mussels and oysters
- Drop – A teardrop shaped pearl
- Egg Shape – An oval pearl shaped like an egg
- Fish Bites or Bite Marks – Term used in some cultures to describe surface imperfections
- Faux Pearl – An artificial or fake pearl, also called an “imitation pearl”
- Freshwater Pearl – Pearl cultured in a freshwater mussel
- Gem Grade – Clean pearls with good color and luster
- Luster – Describes light reflected from the pearl surface, high luster is very desirable
- Matching Set – A matching set of pearls where all pearls are nearly identical, very desirable and hard to find
- Nacre – The thin surface coating on pearls providing color and luster
- Oiling – Describes a process of hiding some cracks and surface issues on pearls, generally considered dishonest as it hides the true pearl quality
- South Sea Pearl – Natural or Cultured saltwater pearl generally found south of Japan. Can be expensive, colors include 24k gold rose and white
- Tahitian Pearls – Saltwater south sea pearls from Tahitian waters, famous for high quality and dark silver to black pearls
- Virgin Pearl – A new undrilled pearl