Pearl Guide

The pearl symbolises purity and love. And like true love, it’s hard to find. If you search more than 10,000 oysters and find one pearl, consider yourself lucky. No wonder a pearl necklace makes such a wonderful anniversary gift. But before buying pearls, it is important to learn and understand the quality and size that is right for you. At My Solitaire, we offer you a range of the finest quality pearls with immense choice of shape, colour and size. Here is some information to help you choose the right one. Quality: Parameters Description Colour Pearls can be white, cream, yellow, pink, silver or black. A pearl can also so have a slight overtone of another colour, for example, a white pearl with a pink overtone. Body colours of white are considered the most valuable. Lustre When light falls on pearls, it is reflected off the surface. This results in a shine which is called lustre. Larger the pearl, more the lustre. Shape Pearls can be round, oval or asymmetrical. The highest quality pearls are round. Marks Not always does an oyster produce a smooth pearl. But spots, bubbles and marks are undesirable. Thus, we offer you the smoothest and most wanted surfaces. Size The source determines the size of the pearl. Freshwater pearls are about 3.0–7.0mm in diameter, Akoya pearls range from about 6.0–8.5mm, and South Sea and Tahitian pearls can reach13mm.

Different Varieties of Pearl

Akoya: Cultured Akoya pearls are very high quality pearls generally seen in pearl strands and earrings. 6.0-8.5 mm in size, you will find them in different shapes and surface textures. Even though they look similar to Fresh water pearls, they are larger in size and more lustrous. Fresh Water: These are either round or rice-shaped. The size is 3.5–7.0mm. These are slightly inferior in quality to Akoya pearls but look similar and are much cheaper. The colour of these pearls is usually white with rose overtones. However, the cultured pearls are available in white, pink, orange, and other pastel shades. They have slight surface markings but are very lustrous. South Sea: South Sea cultured pearls are of impeccable quality. They are silvery-white in colour. Smooth, large and lustrous-these pearls are quite desirable. These are usually 13.0 mm in size and have a round shape and flawless surface. However, slightly spotted ones with medium lustre are available. These pearls come from the rare and very large pinctada maxima oyster. Thus, the cultivation of these pearls is a difficult task, which makes them expensive. Tahitian: Tahitian pearls are the “black” pearls. Their colour ranges from metallic silver to graphite grey. They usually have blue, purple and green overtones. These astonishing pearls are about 13.0 mm in size, round, have a silky smooth surface and are extremely lustrous. Since these pearls are cultivated from the rare and sensitive black-lipped variety of the pictada maxima, they are costly. But nevertheless, extraordinary.

Shapes

The highest quality pearls will always be round. That's why we offer them to you. Other shapes like tear shaped, off-round, baroque, oval, semi-round, button and ringed are considered low quality. Akoya, Tahitian and South Sea peals tend to be round, while Fresh water pears are oval or off-round.

Care

Treat your pearls with love and care and they’ll last you forever. Be careful to keep them away from chemicals, hairspray, perfumes and make-up. To ensure minimum exposure to cosmetics, wear your pearls last when you’re dressing up and when you’re back home, take them off first. Keep them clean and shining. Also, choose pearls with thick nacre, these can handle more wear and tear than the others. Wear your pearls whenever you can. Natural body oils keep pearls lustrous. Keep them away from other jewellery items that might scratch them when you store them.