• ORIGIN:  Akoya pearls are cultured in Japan, China and Vietnam. Japan is the acknowledged leader in Akoya pearl production – known to produce the best, most consistently beautiful Akoya pearls in the world.
• SIZES:  Akoya pearls range in size from 2.0-3.0mm up through 9.0-9.5mm, and very rarely, 9.5-10.0mm.
• COLORS:  Traditional Akoya pearl colors are most famously white, but also include natural Silvery-Blue and even Golden hues.
• COMMON TREATMENTS:  Dyed black Akoya pearls are also very common, and feature a very distinct Midnight Blue-Black color.
• SHAPES:  The most valuable and traditional Akoya pearl shape is a true, perfect Round, but free form Baroque shapes are also available.
• PRICE RANGE:  Prices range from $75 to the high thousands, depending on the jewelry type, size and quality of the pearls.
• GOOD TO KNOW:  The BEST Akoya pearls are known as “Hanadama” Akoya which in Japanese means “Flower Pearls”.

The Official Akoya Pearls Buyer's Guide
The Ultimate Akoya Pearl Grading Guide
The Insider's Guide to Hanadama Akoya

• ORIGIN:  99.99% of all cultured Freshwater pearls are farmed in China’s Freshwater lakes and man-made aquaculture farms.
• SIZES:  Freshwater pearls range in size from 2.0-3.0mm up through 11.0-12.0mm, with new experimental varities attaining sizes of 14.0-15.0mm!
• COLORS:  The Freshwater pearl mussel produces a variety of natural colors, most typically pastel shades of pink, peach, lavender and white.
• COMMON TREATMENTS:  Dyed black Freshwater pearls are commonly referred to as Peacock due to their highly iridescent blue-green and violet hues. Other dyed Freshwater pearl colors include red, gold, green, purple, blue and pink.
• SHAPES:  The most valuable Freshwater pearl shape is as close to a true round as possible, but symmetrical and free form Baroque shapes are also widely available.
• PRICE RANGE:  Prices range from $30 to the high thousands, depending on the jewelry type, size and quality of the pearls.
• GOOD TO KNOW:   MOST cultured Freshwater pearls are “tissue-nucleated” meaning that a small, 1.0mm square piece of donor mantle tissue is used as the nuclei to begin pearl cultivation inside the mussel. As the pearl grows, the donor tissue degrades, leaving a pearl that is nearly 100% solid crystalline nacre. This means that Freshwater pearls are VERY durable!

The Official Freshwater Pearls Buyer's Guide
The Ultimate Freshwater Pearl Grading Guide

• ORIGIN:  Tahitian pearls are farmed on small pearl farm collectives throughout the French Polynesian Islands.
• SIZES:  Tahitian pearls range in size from 8.0-9.0mm up through 15.0-16.0mm, with the average sizes ranging from 9.0-10.0mm through 12.0-13.0mm. Sizes over 15.0mm are RARE, and very expensive.
• COLORS:  The Tahitian pearl oyster, pinctada margaritifera, also known as the “Black Lip” oyster produces a variety of naturally colored black pearls, most typically shades of pastel Dove Greys to darker Charcoal Greys. Their more famous colors like Peacock, Green, Aubergine, etc., are called Overtones and are an iridescent, secondary color that appears to shimmer over the main grey body colors.
• COMMON TREATMENTS:  Black Tahitian pearls are 99% of the time naturally colored with no treatments of any kind other than a gentle washing and buffing after harvest.
• SHAPES:  Perfectly round Tahitian pearls are the most valued and rare. Free-form baroque, circled baroque and smooth baroque shapes that are symmetrical comprise the vast majority of shapes in each yearly pearl harvest.
• PRICE RANGE:  Prices range from $80 to the high thousands, depending on the jewelry type, size and quality of the pearls.
• GOOD TO KNOW:  Cultured Tahitian pearls MUST have a 0.8mm MINIMUM nacre thickness in order to qualify for export from Tahiti to the larger pearl jewelry market.

The Official Tahitian Pearls Buyer's Guide
The Ultimate Tahitian Pearl Grading Guide

• ORIGIN:  The Silver-lipped P. maxima oyster produces the White South Sea pearl, and is mainly farmed along the Northern coast of Australia. The Gold-lipped P. maxima oyster which produces Golden South Sea pearls is mostly farmed in the Philippine Islands.
• SIZES:  South Sea pearls are generally the largest cultured pearl type. Ranging in size from 8.0-9.0mm up through 20.0mm, with the average sizes ranging from 9.0-10.0mm through 14.0-15.0mm. Sizes over 15.0mm are RARE, and very expensive.
• COLORS:  The South Sea pearl oyster, Pinctada can be either “Silver-lipped” or “Gold-lipped” varieties, and produces natural shades of White and Gold respectively.
• COMMON TREATMENTS:  99% of all South Sea pearls undergo NO treatment of any kind other than a gentle washing and buffing after harvest.
• SHAPES:  South Sea pearls that are perfectly round are the most valuable and rare. Free form baroque, circled baroque and smooth baroque shapes that are symmetrical comprise the vast majority of shapes in each yearly pearl harvest.
• PRICE RANGE:  Prices range from $200 to the tens of thousands, depending on the jewelry type, size and quality of the pearls.
• GOOD TO KNOW:  Cultured South Sea pearls have the thickest nacre layers of all saltwater cultured pearl types, averaging around 2.0-4.0mm thick around the pearl’s bead nucleus. These extremely thick nacre layers are responsible for the South Sea pearl’s trademark “satiny” luster that imparts a subtle glow (rather than the “hard shine” of the Japanese Akoya, for example).

The Official South Sea PearlBuyer's Guide
The Ultimate South Sea Pearl Grading Guide

• ORIGIN:  Sea of Cortez pearls are cultured on only ONE farm in the entire world: The Perlas del Mar de Cortez pearl farm in Guyamas, Mexico. The farm produces less than 4,000 cultured pearls each year including whole pearls and mabé pearls.
• SIZES:  Size ranges from 8.0-9.0mm up through 11.0-12.0mm, with larger pearls being VERY RARE.
• COLORS:  The Sea of Cortez pearl oyster, Pteria penguin is also called the “Rainbow Lip” oyster, which gives you a clue as to the wide range of colors this mollusk can produce. Blue-Green, Green, Pistachio, Mauve, Aubergine, Copper, Lime and Rose are just a FEW of the gorgeous hues these pearls present.
• COMMON TREATMENTS:  NONE. Ever. These pearls are gently washed and scrubbed to remove harvest tissue, and then tumbled in waxed bamboo chips to enhance shine, but that’s it.
• SHAPES:  Round pearls are the rarest shape for Sea of Cortez, comprising a tiny fraction of each yearly harvest. Much more common are symmetrical baroques, and then smooth drop shapes.
• PRICE RANGE:  Prices range from $200 to the tens of thousands, depending on the jewelry type, size and quality of the pearls.
• GOOD TO KNOW:  Sea of Cortez cultured pearls are the ONLY cultured pearl type in the entire world that will fluoresce under UV lighting. It is Mother Nature’s built-in ID system.

Learn More About Sea of Cortez Pearls
An Interview with Douglas McLaurin, Creator of Sea of Cortez Pearls