How to Buy Pearl Jewelry: 5 Steps to Finding the Perfect Pearls

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How to Buy Pearl Jewelry

Purchasing pearl earrings and other jewelry is supposed to be fun, right? As jewelry professionals, people occasionally ask us about cultured pearls.

Are they Real Pearls?

You bet! Cultured pearls are made by two types of mollusk: oysters create saltwater pearls, and mussels create freshwater pearls.

Before you visit the jewelry store let’s find out How to Buy Pearl Jewelry Online


What are the highest quality pearls?

highest quality pearls

To culture a pearl, the technician performs a delicate surgery to insert a bead nucleus or tissue. A nice pearl will hopefully be the result, and will eventually make it you to purchase at a jewelry store.

Pearls are often rated on the “triple-A” scale, but there is no universal grading standard. So, it’s a good idea to figure out the different types and what denotes quality.

As it happens you don’t have 4 C’s like with diamonds, but instead, 7 major value factors to look for when choosing Perlen Schmuck: color, size, surface, matching, shape, the thickness of the nacre, and luster.

Remember, you’ll need to make a close study of the pearls in person. Are they warm or cool?

At room temperature, real pearls are cool to the touch. Make sure to pay attention to the little details.

How can I tell if a pearl is real? Is it Genuine or Not?

pearl is real

Wanna be sure whether a pearl is fake?

The easiest test is to do this: Take 2 pearls and rub them lightly against one another without straining.

It’s quite subtle, but you want to feel a small bit of grittiness.

The sandy feeling is due to the conchiolin, natural layers of a substance that an oyster puts around a nucleus to create a pearl.

Fake stuff like enamel, plastics, and so on just won’t give you that grainy experience. By contrast, it would be glossy and warm.

How to Test Orignal Pearls

Only have one of them? To test it, rub it lightly against the biting edge of your teeth (just do it carefully so that you don’t damage it!) Are you feeling a grainy texture?

By the way, touching someone else’s pearls in your mouth may not be all that clean… you’ve been warned!

Example: How to Buy Pearl Jewelry

Buy Pearl Jewelry Set

When shopping for earrings, a pearl necklace or pearl ring, makes certain the pearls match closely. You want to look at the size, shape, and color.

This is a bit different from when buying a bracelet or necklace, where you roll the strand along a smooth table to look at the pearls.

If possible examine the pearls under natural light. This will reveal the true color without casts of blue or yellow. No two pearls are exactly alike, so don’t worry about it too much.

Also, keep in mind that the dots and gashes sometimes seen on pearls are natural. It’s fine to accept small blemishes; in many cases, it makes them one-of-a-kind and easy to spot as your own!

In summary, buying pearls for pearl earrings is your individual decision: what pearl color do you like especially?

When you shopping Perlenohrringe online do you see a lot of options, which ones just seem to fit?

Take your time when shopping for pearls. Like any valuable investment, pearls deserve careful consideration.

Whether you’re seeking a single exquisite gem or indulging in a breathtaking strand, savor the process and seek quality within your budget.

5 Steps to Buying Pearl Jewelry

5 Steps to Buying Pearl Jewelry

Pearls are beautiful in their simplicity and look great with any outfit. But, buying pearls is not always very simple.

By following five basic steps, you can avoid paying too much for your jewelry or missing out on the perfect pearl.

The color of the pearl and the way it is set in the piece of jewelry may be the first things you consider but are more personal preference than determinants of value.

The important steps to take when buying pearls are to look at the following:

  • size
  • shape (round, baroque, teardrop, or other)
  • surface (smoothness and luster)
  • type (natural, cultured, saltwater, freshwater or imitation)
  • grade (A, AA, etc.)

What is a good size Pearl earring?

Pearl earring

Like many (but not all) types of jewellery, the size of pearls is closely linked to their value.

Large cultured pearls are harder to create, and large natural (found) pearls are incredibly rare.

For this reason, a double strand of smaller pearls is likely to be more affordable than a single strand of large pearls.

What do natural pearls shape to look like?

In years past, the only acceptable shape for pearl jewelry was perfectly spherical.

Aspherical pearl is still the most desirable, but there is now a large market for oval, teardrop, and even disc-shaped pearls.

These alternative types tend to be more affordable, but still must be symmetrical (round, when viewed from one end) and smooth.

pearls shape look like

Pearl Surface Quality

The smoothness of a pearl’s surface is also very important for its value.

Blemishes are not desirable, of course, but a small amount of surface roughness is to be expected in natural or cultured pearls.

A pearl that is totally smooth, for example, is likely to be fake.

The luster, or “glow” of the surface, is important as well. Look for a shiny surface and a strong reflection of light.

If a pearl has a dull, cloudy surface, it will be less valuable than a lustrous one.

Placing a pearl directly under a light on a flat, white surface is a good way to check for luster.

Types of Pearls and Their Value

Types of Pearls and Their Value

There are several basic types of pearls:

  • Natural pearls are the ones that are simply found inside of a mollusk, such as an oyster. These are extremely rare and, if they are of high quality, are very expensive.
  • Cultured pearls are not fake but come from a mollusk that has been “farmed”. In this process, a pearl is made to grow inside the mollusk by inserting a small irritant like a grain of sand. These can be produced in a large size and smooth surface by a skilled pearl farmer.
  • Saltwater pearls are simply pearls found or grown in the sea. The trade names for saltwater cultured pearls include Akoya, South Sea, or Black Tahiti.
  • Freshwater pearls, by the same token, are found or grown in lakes, rivers, and ponds. The majority of these come from China. Freshwater pearls are typically a little softer and easier to scratch than saltwater pearls and are a bit less valuable.
  • Imitation pearls are typically made from glass or plastic. They have very little value and are typically used in costume jewelry.

Pearl Grading

how Pearl Grading

Though there is not an industry-wide grading standard for pearls, there are two systems that are accepted by most jewellery dealers.

The Triple-A system grades pearls on their flawlessness and luster, with one “A” being the lowest and three “A”s being the highest.

The Tahitian system also grades based on flawlessness and luster, but it uses the ratings A-D, with D being the lowest and A being the highest.

This system is used primarily for the South Sea and Tahitian pearls.

Caring for Your Accessories

Pearl Care

If you are wearing freshwater pearls, you will want to make sure that you take the time to care for them so that they do not become damaged over time.

Since these beautiful accessories are naturally occurring jewel they are quite tough, but they are not as hard as other jewels such as emeralds or even quartz.

Any type of accessories that features natural pearls needs to be cared for, even if the piece was inexpensive.

You should avoid spraying any kind of cosmetics around the area where your necklaces and rings will lie, especially if you are using hairspray or perfume.

Pearls also need to be stored and worn without touching other metals, since they can be damaged by harder natural stones.

Buying Jewelry

When buying any kind of jewelry, it is always a good idea to have fixed the budget before buying.

The sky is the limit with jewelry and you will find it much easier to set a limit and then look to get the maximum value for that.

If you’re thinking about buying pearl earrings (or any kind of pearl jewelry) a great resource premier place to buy at muau.ch.

 

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and pass it on to your friends!

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you so much for this amazing article that you have shared with us, indeed this article is very informative and helpful in buying pearl jewelry, I have gone through this article and I am now feeling so informative that I can do the buying alone without help.

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