South Sea pearls - grading and certificate ..

M

Myizzkie

Community member
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May 21, 2016
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42
Hello,

I have been researching about South Sea pearls, WSS in particular, and come across many info from many random website;

- Some said they are known to be round, but I have also seen many mentioned that most SS aren't round (??)
- There would, most of the time, be some blemishes in few of the pearls in a strand (??)
- Some said they are very very high in luster, but many also said their lusters are not as sharp as Akoya (??)
- Is there any real grading in SS pearls the same way with Hanadama? Do highest grade come with Certificate ? (I have heard there is certificate that would say they are white lips pearls Hamadama quality - has anyone seen one?)


I own a strand of Akoya Hanadama purchased from Japan years ago. As a person know knew nothing about pearls back then (and very little now), the only reason why I decided to spend for Hanadama is because there is Certificate that would come with it to give me a peace of mind. I feel AAA grade and below are subjective to sellers..

Could experts here let me know if pearls that come with certificate from institute are same quality among many vendors?

Any info., comments, suggestions are welcome :)
 
I am by no means an expert but I do have a little insight here.

*

1) Since south sea pearls are nucleated (like akoyas and Tahitians) they tend to be more round than non-bead-nucleated freshwaters on average, for example. Of course, you can have the more baroque SS pearls and several members have posted pictures of their baroque SS pearls in both gold and white varieties (and all of these are gorgeous!). Perfectly round is not as plentiful as baroque pearls, as is the case with both Tahitian and akoya pearls. There are members that have exceptionally round strands, though and they are stunning!

*

2) This is probably true for the most part, simply because of the same logic used before. "Perfect" round pearls with no blemishes are more rare, which means they cost more. I feel sure that it is possible to get a "perfect" strand of SS pearls, but it will cost more (possibly significantly) than another strand with a few imperfections that still has exceptional roundness and luster. That being said, these are pearls and really never are "perfect" (except maybe to the beholder!).

*

3) I don't personally own a strand of SS pearls and have actually never seen a full strand in person, but from reading other texts I don't think their luster is quite the same as hanadama akoya, which is what you would be comparing to since I know you own a strand (jealous, btw. Those and the metallic freshadamas you have are killer!) Same thing with freshwater pearls, though. The luster profile is not the same but can come VERY close to top-range akoyas. I think SS pearls have been described as being more "satiny" in luster than akoyas, but still very high luster in top-quality strands.

*

4) There is no grading for SS pearls like that of akoya pearls, and no standardized certificate for high grades that I am aware of (someone please correct me if this is wrong). That is why is so important to buy from a reputable vendor. Only buy pearls from a vendor who has a stated grading scale and who has a good return/exchange program because you are correct - grading scales for each company are subjective to sellers. For me personally, I have purchased from Pearl Paradise and can highly recommend them. There are other members who have purchased pearls from other vendors and can recommend them to you, but I can only vouch for these three personally!
 
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I agree with lary007 except that SSP are graded, on an A-D scale or A-AAA. However the grading for all pearls isn't standardized as it is for diamonds.

Think about it. Round pearls are in the minority, which is why they cost so much more than baroques. Of course the goal of pearl producers is more round pearls, but as the oysters are in the water about 2 years, a lot can happen to the shape in that time.

Most strands will have some blemishes, but you can get one that is lightly blemished. My WSS strand is "very lightly blemished"-- but it wasn't very costly because it is ringed. A completely unblemished, matched round strand would be much more costly.

Most WSS have a more satiny luster but there are strands with higher luster than others. My SSP are shown below; I like this luster but you may want a higher luster.

There aren't any certificates, unlike hanadama. However, I will add that some sellers' AAA akoyas may be better than other sellers' hanadama certified akoyas. To receive the hanadama certificate pearl strands (or pairs) have to meet a certain standard, but there may be uncertified pearls that exceed that standard.

If you want a round, high luster strand with few blemishes, talk to one of the vendors and see what they can come up with for you. Be prepared to wait for them to find one to meet your standards. It might be a good idea to discuss a price range for the strand.

South Sea pearl strand
 
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Pearl Dreams. your strand is seriously beautiful. I enjoy living vicariously here on Pearl Guide.
 
Round and mostly perfect WSS are very expensive ...add large to that and they get very very expensive. I've seen stunning top strands that wholesale for well over 30-40k . But , you can get beautiful strands for a whole lot less as you can see in Pearl Dreams beautiful necklace !

A Perfect round pearl is rare and you pay for it ...perfect luster is rare and you pay for that ...large takes time so you pay for that ..for all that to occur in a single pearl is very rare ...then find 30 more that match .

Personally I love the baroques and drop shapes as I think they are more interesting but the wonderful thing about pearls is that there is something out there for everyone .

Go to lots of jewelery stores and look at lots of pearls . The more you see the better you understand exactly what you are looking at ...
 
Thank you all for such a great info. and to Pearl Dreams for sharing picture of your BEAUTIFUL necklace. Those pearls look great on you :)

I live in OC, CA so I might stop by Pearl Paradise store one of these days to see how good quality SS pearls look like in person - though it's be awhile before I save up enough to be able to afford a strand lol

Thanks again to everyone. I love hanging out here :)
 
Concur with the others that PP has gorgeous SSPs. The strand of round SSPs that I was eyeing during my recent visit was many times over my entire bling budget for the PG Ruckus trip!

Something to dream about, as I am not sure if I could justify the expense.

Need to get over my desire to have a strand of blue Tahitians first, hopefully in 2020 when I attend my next PG Ruckus.

DK :D
 
Wow, very lustrous! They have a very cool, silvery tone. Have you tried them one yet to see how thy look with your skin tone? I'd love to see a neck shot.
 
Thank you, Pearl Dreams and Katbran.

Here's the neckshot - I wear them for the first time too :)

White round south sea strand worn


High luster white south sea pearl strand


And since I pulled them out for pictures, might as well do comparison shots with Hanadama and my fav Metallic Freshadama :D

Top Hanadama akoya, Middle metallic freshadama freshwater, Bottom white South Sea pearls
 
All three strands are beautiful But i always am attracted to large pearls.
 
Wowza! My jaw dropped when I saw the picture of all 3 strands together!
 
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