| Your system makes a lot of sense - and it can be used in a number of ways. It is an excellent guide, especially for choosing less than perfect pearls too!
One can choose the factors that are important to them. For instance most of the purveyors on this site are featuring very good to almost best quality in all factors. Codifying the factors gives the possibility of a very complex system for all pearls, which are always better in some factors than others.
Now the rest of this article is an essay on why perfect on all factors is not my first choice.
I have a different preference than those who love the perfect pearls, and I would use this chart differently. Of course I prefer the best luster, but I like the slightly off round shapes best. If the luster is great, I don't mind visible imperfections in the skins, either.
WHY? Because I have grown up with the natural Bahraini pearls. I am always looking to find pearls that look something like natural Bahraini pearls. Now I know the Persian pearl beds must have had some AAAA+ plus perfect rounds over the thousands of years the pearl beds were in operation, but such perfect pearls would never be sold to non-royal buyers such as my grandparents, (who lived on Bahrain from the 30’s to the 60’s and bought pearls for their children and grandchildren. See the pearl history thread for that story, which was my first post here. )
The Bahraini pearls in my family were too symmetrical to be called baroque, they were slightly off round and some might have a tiny bump (which would always be more iridescent). They are drilled through the imperfections to show the best side. Also they are smallish. I had a graduated necklace with pearls from size 7 in the center to 2-3mm on the ends. My mom had a choker that was all about size 6mm and earrings which were large, long, baroque about 14mm. I still have a few inches of these pearls (Most have gone into other necklaces) and a ring made from one of the earrings.
My eye just jumps when I see pearls that are extremely lustrous but aren’t perfectly round. They look more natural to me than the perfect ones, (which look manufactured to me!!) IMHO when the Chinese fw pearls have AAA luster, they are the equal to any sea pearl ……..and they are not just expensive beads with a layer of nacre, they are solid pearl!
I fear the trend will be for the Chinese to make nucleated pearls as the sea pearls people do. A lady from a Chinese pearl farm factory told me her farms are working on it. The odd shaped fw pearls- like coins and squares, all have nuclei and someday so will the rounds.
Mark my words: I feel like this is a great time for investing in solid nacre FW pearls. The Chinese have perfected the art of growing them and they are even getting some off rounds larger than 14+mm, in solid nacre! When the Chinese perfect bead nucleated round pearls, they will make far more money in far less time (it takes years to grow big pearls) and that will be the end of solid nacre pearls unless some gourmet growers come into operation!  |