What exactly are they? Are they rejects or very young pearls? Do these pearls have much value?

[jshepherd]

Where did you see this term? I have seen the term used to refer to freshwater pearls - a scam. I would stay away from any seller with "baby South Sea pearls".
Do you have a link to this?

[jshepherd]

American Pearl is using the term to describe a small South Sea necklace - no difference in the pearls, just the size.
The listing on Shop.com is simply deceptive advertising. They are selling Chinese freshwater pearls that have nothing to do with South Sea...

If you search the internet, you may find pearls dubbed as "baby south sea". These are actually nice round freshwater pearls that are 5-10mm. Don't be deceived. They are not real SSP.

[Jacques]

This doesn't surprise me at all. There appears to be a ton of deceptive advertising in regards to pearls and pearl type/quality, especially on the web.

[The Pearl Outlet]

Most of the time the term "Baby South Sea Pearls" is used fraudulently to try to hype freshwater pearls. However, when I was in Dubai at the World Pearl Conference, I was surprised when Josh from Atals South Sea Pearl used the term to refer to the small South Sea pearls they produce when training their grafters. He explained that they use smaller bead nuclei for training purposes, and thus smaller SS pearls are produced. He stated that often these pearls are sold as Akoya pearls by the Japanese. These "Baby South Sea" pearls are in the 7-8+mm size.

[jshepherd]

Do you mean Joseph, not Josh?

[The Pearl Outlet]

LOL Yeah, I knew you'd catch that right after I posted it.

[pearlescence]

The nacre on south sea pearls is different to Akoya pearls isn't it?

[The Pearl Outlet]

I'm assuming you mean the luster since most of the time SS pearls are referred to as having more of a satiny luster. I'll take some pictures today of both. I have a few 8mm Baby South Sea that Colin (another gent from Atlas) sent me.

[pearlescence]

Yes, satin-y. exactly so.
So how would they pass as akoya - and why would they want them to?
Sort of apprentice pieces really

[The Pearl Outlet]

The reason Joseph gave me was because there really isn't a market for them since they are the same size as Akoya combined with the fact they aren't produced in large quantities. I've only been able to get a few from them since they sell most of them to Japan. They look close enough to Akoya that there are Akoya that can be matched with them.

[The Pearl Outlet]

Here's a photo of both. Can anyone tell the difference?

The pearl on the left is 8.24mm and the one on the right is 8.20mm.

[pearlescence]

the one on the left looks slightly satiny compared to the one on the right (but I am going to get my eyes tested tomorrow morning)

[The Pearl Outlet]

With several times the nacre thickness, I think there could be a market for these smaller SS pearls with ample supply and an educated audience.