Hi there,

I have seen a number of different grades used for freshwater pearls - only I end up confused the more I read. I've seen A,AA,AAA,AAA+,AAAA

Can anybody give me a proper explanation of the most common grading system used for Freshwater pearls?

thanks for your help!

first, be aware there IS NO standardized grading system for pearls. NONE. so whatever grade a dealer assigns to his wares means whatever he wants it to mean, and grades are NOT directly comparable from one dealer to another. one dealer's AAA may only be equivalent to another's AA. most of the time, though, you do get what you pay for.

this thread may be helpful: Standardized Pearl Grading

[purepearls]

There is no universal grading standard for pearls. The retailer should have their own grading standard so look it over carefully. If a retailer is selling their pearls as AAA and their grading standards go from A-AAAA, then you are getting a medium grade pearl. On the other hand, if a retailer goes by an A-AAA grading scale, and they are selling AAA grade Freshwater pearls, the pearls should be of the highest quality. It's always wise to look at the grading system of the particular retailer and figure out exactly what you are getting. We do grading scales such as this:
http://www.purepearls.com/grading-freshwater-pearls.htm
to make it easy for customers to determine what quality pearls they will be receiving.