flammablejammies...
Since evaluating pearls is something best done in person,
I would recommend letting your sister read this answer,
in preparation for her trip, rather than attempting to
guage the quality of the pearls available at Amazon.
All the sources I located agree on the following five
factors in assessing the value of pearls:
Lustre
Surface or Spotting
Shape or Symmetry
Color
Size
LUSTRE
The Paspaley Pearling Company, which specializes in Australian
South Sea Pearls, notes on their site that Lustre is the most
important factor in determining the quality of pearls:
"Lustre describes the beauty of light being reflected from the
surface of the pearl and simultaneously refracted from inside
the pearl nacre."
"Of the five factors used in determining the quality of pearls,
lustre is the most important and has the biggest impact on
determining the value of a pearl The matchless beauty, size,
and durability of the Australian South Sea Pearl is the result
of the unique nature of the nacre secreted by the mantle of
the South Sea Pearl shell - Pinctada Maxima. No other shell
produces such remarkable constant structure, unique shapes
and rich thickness of the nacre tiles."
"A pearl's price is greatly affected by the grading of the
lustre."
http://www.paspaleypearls.com/Lustre1.html
Paspaley elaborates on the grades of lustre on the next page:
"Excellent - Fine
Finest quality nacre with greatest thickness and highest
refraction & reflective qualities"
"Fine
Very good thick nacre but with slighlty less refraction
& reflection."
"Commercial
Nacre is thinner and refraction & reflection are 'soapy'".
http://www.paspaleypearls.com/Lustre2.html
Nacre is also known as Mother of Pearl. A definitive image
to assist in understanding the construction of a pearl is
on the 'Beeghly and Keim - Jewelers and Gemologists' website,
as well as a discussion about cultured pearls and the grading
system for pearls in general:
"99.9% of pearls on the market are not natural pearls, but
cultured pearls. Cultured pearls are grown by inserting a
mother of pearl bead or small piece of oyster inside a
particular species of oyster. This object is treated as
an irritant inside the oyster, and its natural reaction
is to cover the object with a NacreŽ coating. This NacreŽ
coating is what is judged when evaluating the quality of
cultured pearls. There are five main categories when
determining the quality of pearls. The jewelry trade uses
the categories to assign a grade for the cultured pearls:
AAA, AA, A, and B quality grades, with AAA being the
highest quality, descending in quality to B."
The Beeghly and Keim website says this about lustre:
"Depending on the quality of the pearl's coating, it will
display a reflection on the surface. The sharper the
reflection, the higher the pearl quality grade."
http://www.beeghlyandkeim.com/pearls.asp
Writer-Performer-Recording Artist and China Jewish Heritage
Tour Leader Joy Katzen-Guthrie writes, in her online journal:
"Pearls are abundant in China, making them a major industry.
Pearls in a variety of colors and textures are present.. In
fact, you'll be amazed to see the display of pearls that are
present in the oyster when it is opened. Craftspeople here
enjoy creating new designs and will tailor a design of your
choice if you show them a sample or describe it to them."
With regard to Luster, she simply says:
"the brighter, the more expensive".
[Under Pearl Market, near the bottom of the page]:
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
SURFACE or SPOTTING
Joy Katzen-Guthrie notes:
" Surface - the more flawless, the more expensive"
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
Beeghly and Keim state:
"Spotting: Due to their growth within the oyster, pearls
have surface characteristics that define their quality.
Pearls are naturally spotted, and the extent of the
spotting determines the quality of the pearl. The less
blemishes the surface has, the more brilliant the pearl."
http://www.beeghlyandkeim.com/pearls.asp
SHAPE or SYMMETRY
Joy Katzen-Guthrie says:
"Shape - the rounder, the more expensive, except for some
unique shapes"
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
Beeghly and Keim write:
"Symmetry: Pearls are cultured in all shapes from spherical
to baroque. In a strand of pearls, the symmetry should be
similar throughout the strand."
http://www.beeghlyandkeim.com/pearls.asp
COLOR
Joy Katzen-Guthrie writes:
"the whiter, the more expensive, except for pink necklaces
due to the difficulty of selecting consistent pink color
pearls."
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
Beeghly and Keim say:
"Pearls display a unique optic characteristic known as
iridescence. This iridescence is accented by a pearl's
body color and overtone. The body color of a pearl is
the underlying color of a pearl and is accented by the
overtone color. the type and quality of color determines
a pearls quality."
http://www.beeghlyandkeim.com/pearls.asp
SIZE
Joy Katzen-Guthrie:
"the bigger, the more expensive, but it still depends on
the quality."
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
Beeghly and Keim:
"Pearl size is measured in millimeter and diameter lengths."
http://www.beeghlyandkeim.com/pearls.asp
SHOPPING TIPS
Understandably, this is where the professional jewelers ask
you to trust their rating system. This is where the experience
of Joy Katzen-Guthrie comes into play, and she becomes more
verbal:
"Here are some tips suggested to us for choosing pearls:
-Put the pearls against your neck. Genuine pearls will feel
cooler than fakes.
-Bite the pearl. A fake will be smooth and slippery, while
the real thing has a tangible grain.
-If the shop allows, set a light to the pearl. The real thing
will not burn and turn black.
I guess that process is the best example of "not getting
burned" by your pearl choices!"
"[In China] The price of a common pearl necklace ranges from
100 yuan to 500 yuan (approximately $120-$600). Design also
has an impact on the price, depending on how complicated the
design work. Simple work can be done while you wait.
Complicated work may take until the next day."
http://www.joyfulnoise.net/JoyChina3.html
I believe this will adequately prepare you for the adventure
of obtaining authentic deep-sea treasures!
Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.
A user's guide on this topic is on skermit-ga's site, here:
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html#how_clarify
sublime1-ga
Additional information can be gleaned from further exploration
of the links provided above, as well as those resulting from the
Google searches, outlined below.
Searches done, via Google:
"determining the quality of pearls"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22determining+the+quality+of+pearls%22 |
