[Mikeyy]

I was reading on another thread about grading. One member says they have AAA+ Pearls. They say the are flawless.The AAA+ grading was questioned by another member. But AAA grade allows for some flaws.

AAA:The highest-quality pearl, virtually flawless. The surface will have a very high luster, and at least 95% of the surface will be free from any type of defect.

So shouldn't there be a way to indicate that you have the cream of the crop so to speak? If you have pearls that are defect free 100% should they be allowed some designation?

[Mka4972]

You can have a perfectly flawless strand of pearls but the luster and shape may not be that great so I would much rather take a high luster round pearl with very minor flaws graded as an AAA strand over a lower luster, off round but flawless AAA+ strand

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Mka4972

You can have a perfectly flawless strand of pearls but the luster and shape may not be that great so I would much rather take a high luster round pearl with very minor flaws graded as an AAA strand over a lower luster, off round but flawless AAA+ strand

I meant that if all factors are top quality. Luster, Shape and Surface. I think there ought to be a way of identifying its uniqueness.

[Ashley]

Yeah- we call it "GEM" Quality. This goes for all gemstones

[Mikeyy]

I see. So after AAA is GEM. So GEM is 100% flawless. Thanks. It didn't mention that in the grading area. It stopped at AAA.

[Ashley]

Gem should be 100% flawless- it should be the best of the best of the best. With honors. But that's where the grading scale gets all twerked around though- some people have AAA+ or AAAA or AAAAA and then Gem- they're all grading on their own standards and it's all rather confusing.

An additional problem with adopting a standardized grading system-which has been the bane of the industry for quite some time now- is that you can't really compare a strand of Tahitian Baroques to South Sea rounds or Freshwaters- the quality factors are totally different, you're looking for different attributes for each pearl type. Apples and oranges and all that- they're all fruit, but I'll take oranges any day

However, pearls being organic gems, there's usually some type of inclusion or wobble in the nacre- something. Nature is not perfect. That's why the Gem designation should be used very sparingly, and I don't believe that always is the case unfortunately.

[Mikeyy]

Originally Posted by Ashley

Gem should be 100% flawless- it should be the best of the best of the best. With honors. But that's where the grading scale gets all twerked around though- some people have AAA+ or AAAA or AAAAA and then Gem- they're all grading on their own standards and it's all rather confusing.

An additional problem with adopting a standardized grading system-which has been the bane of the industry for quite some time now- is that you can't really compare a strand of Tahitian Baroques to South Sea rounds or Freshwaters- the quality factors are totally different, you're looking for different attributes for each pearl type. Apples and oranges and all that- they're all fruit, but I'll take oranges any day

However, pearls being organic gems, there's usually some type of inclusion or wobble in the nacre- something. Nature is not perfect. That's why the Gem designation should be used very sparingly, and I don't believe that always is the case unfortunately.

That sounds reasonable to me. Is it necessary to have one standard grading system for all pearls? Perhaps grading systems for different types of pearls would allow a more accurate grading system for pearls over all.

Hey I'm just throwing them up there..

[Slraep]

I agree with Ashley. The designation for one of those would be "gem". Unfortunately, lots of buyers, and merchants too, have never seen gem quality, let alone carry any. That is one of the things that really, really irks me---merchants that throw the "gem" word around like it was really so. Some of the worst offenders are retailers of Kasumiga pearls. It seems that any lumpy-bumpy, yellowy tinged, lopsided, cloudy conchiolin patched, and missing pieces of nacred(you can see the layer underneath)specimens are automatically passed of as "gem" just because they are rare. These are not "gem". They are what they are, which is a lower quality of a rare pearl, is all. Gem quality in stones means it is as close to perfection in all desired aspects as naturally possible. Of course, you will have to pay a pretty penny for gem quality.

Slraep