Pearl Guide

Provoked Baroque, a term coined by Doug Fiske, aptly describes the newest type of Tahitian pearls. It is now possible to skip the long wait for large pearls that grow in later grafts, while keeping the color and luster that typify earlier, smaller pearls.


Many of these pearls exhibit folds that make one think of the chocolate candies "Raisinettes", but these treats have baroque shell nuclei inside.



The technique was published in "The Australian Gemmologist", First Quarter 2013 by...

Welcome!

Pearls have long been a subject of fascination ? beautiful gems produced by living organisms, with or without the help of human intervention. In the early 20th century, cultivation of pearls brought regal beauty to the masses. More recently, improvements in techniques, advances in cross-breeding, and fervent experimentation have redefined our expectations of what a pearl should look like, and even be.

The Pearl-Guide.com forum has been the home of lively discussion on every...

All perfectly spherical. All luminous. All highly lustrous.



Two are Hanadama-grade akoya cultured pearl strands, and one is a solid-nacre freshwater cultured pearl strand. Surprised? The time has come for the best of freshwater cultured pearls to be recognized as reaching the same level as saltwater cultured pearls. Prices are rising in response to the vast improvement in freshwater quality, and freshwater pearls have something that saltwater pearls don't - endless variety.



Bright...

Antique Jewelry Collector Paul Royse will be contributing a series of articles on learning about and acquiring antique pearl jewelry. This introduction is the first installment.

Antique Pearl Jewelry that YOU Could Own
Paul Royse

Introduction

Pearls are unique among the precious gemstones. They arrive from nature already perfectly formed, and display their amazing beauty without the need for any further faceting, polishing, or preparation.

The natural beauty and perfection of pearls led...

The AGTA Tucson show is filled with fabulous gems that compete for attention, but this necklace stopped everyone in their tracks.



Painstakingly collected for twelve years, starting in the 1960s, this triple strand necklace of natural-color pale pink cultured Burmese pearls is virtually priceless.

Fran Mastoloni says ?The pink color was a little more prevalent in the early days of Burma. Lately, however, the colors are more champagne to cream.?



Ranging in size from 10.3 to 15.3mm...

Measuring Pearl Quality
Pearl quality and thus, the value of a pearl is measured according to a combination of several varied factors are: the type of pearl, the thickness of its nacre, its luster, the cleanliness and texture of its surface, its shape, its color, and its size.


Because the pearl is a naturally occurring organic gemstone, created by living creatures, these factors can and do vary widely. Although all of them affect the ultimate value of a given pearl, some of the factors are...