Pearl measurement question

[battah]

This may be a dumb question. I seem to recall reading in multiple places, a few years ago, that pearls are measured along the drill hole. But recently I read somewhere that they're measured perpendicular to the drill hole. Depending on the shape of the pearl, that can be a pretty big difference. Can one of the experts please clarify for me?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Perpendicular to the drill hole is standard. If in doubt about what your vendor means by the measurements, ask.

 

[jshepherd]

That's correct. If the pearls are undrilled baroques, they are measured at their widest points. Drilled pearls are always measured perpendicular to the drill hole. It's rare, but I have seen people (possibly unintentionally) giving diameter like, "measures 8 mm by 13 mm" to a strand of Tahitian pearls when they are referring to length in the second measurement, even of the strand is actually 8-9 or 8-10 mm.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I concur...always perpendicular to the drill hole (or where the drill hole should be in an undrilled pearl)

 

[Katbran]

Agree

 

[battah]

Thanks for the replies, friends. This is so strange, I wonder who told me that when I first started learning about pearls... glad to be corrected!

 

[JerseyPearl]

I will also say, that sometimes with a drop shape or flame ball pearl, it is helpful to state the overall length to provide context. I

 

[pearlescence]

I often give length of a drop pearl because lay people don't know how pearls are measured and will either think the pearl is much smaller than it is, or will ask anyway

 

[jshepherd]

This is the actual law on measuring loose pearls.

 

[Pareltje]

Thanks Jeremy, for the pearl measurement law. I also had my doubts about how to measure pearls.

 

[LondonPearl]

It's not a dumb question! If only the Chinese played by the rules.... They seem to think that "Chinese size" is acceptable. They always round up by a mm or more. Caveat emptor!

 

[jshepherd]

The worst "Chinese size" in material sizing, in my opinion. There is no longer a 7-8 mm freshwater pearl strand. Pearls sold at 7-8 mm are actually 6.5-7.5 and nearly all the pearls are in the 6.5-7 mm range with just a few larger than 7 mm.

That's one of the easiest ways, in my opinion, to distinguish between sellers of fine freshwater pearls and commercial grade.

 

[pearlescence]

The CIBJO rules (not law surely?) are a guidance only. An industry body setting a guidance standard.
One glaring omission is that it does not specify the exactness of the measurements. none/one/two decimal places. Metric or imperial
And rounding down instead of up. Normal mathematical and scientific practice is down for below 0.5 up for 0.5-0.9

 

[jshepherd]

The CIBJO blue books are accepted as global standards by all member nations and their organizations. That includes the UK and the USA. In the states, the FTC and JVC follow and enforce those standards.

 

[LondonPearl]

The "Chinese size" issue is a major problem in our industry. It is one of the elephants in the room that no one likes to discuss.... but here goes... As a company we measure every pearl we sell and describe it accurately. Many pearl dealers - you know who you are - sell using the sizing that the Chinese adopt. In my opinion using those sizes is nothing more than theft or deception at best. You think it gives you a commercial advantage - and in some cases your deception works. But a little warning here .... one major chain store in Europe that I know recently started to actually measure the deliveries they received.... suffice to say my competitor just lost the whole account ..... The moral of the story is always measure your pearls!

 

[pearlescence]

I don't know what the FTC or JVC are. How do they enforce them? If you measure your pearls for sale differently will you be sent to prison?
In the UK I suspect that the CIBJO guidance might be cited in court in a trading standards prosecution for breach of EU trading laws on description or such but the court would be looking at how the pearls differed from the given description. I have never heard of a case where this was the sole basis for a prosecution or, indeed a civil action for damages.
CIBJO is not even something you can join, thereby placing yourself voluntarily under their rules. If you want to tweet you have to sign up and then abide by Twitter's rules or they throw you off.
The British Pearl Association was a good attempt at a national body to supervise standards and ethics (you had to provide detailed references to become a full member) but unfortunately its founder has had to resign due to illness and the new people running it have subsumed it into their organisation and it has swiftly turned into something which, as far as I can make out, sells sma jewellery business insurance. Which is a huge shame

 

[pearlescence]

Re size. I had a new customer who wanted small pearls for bridal stuff. She wanted - say 5mm off rounds with a decent lustre. I supplied same. They were too big. Eventually she sent a sample and her previous 5mm pearls from another supplier were 3.8mm tops. I told her I had these and sent the link. She refused to buy 3.8mm pearls as her pearls were 5mm. Even when I sent a photo of her pearls in my calipers with the reading, no, somehow I was trying to cheat her (note the pearls were the same price!)

 

[jshepherd]

I don't know what the FTC or JVC are. How do they enforce them? If you measure your pearls for sale differently will you be sent to prison?
In the UK I suspect that the CIBJO guidance might be cited in court in a trading standards prosecution for breach of EU trading laws on description or such but the court would be looking at how the pearls differed from the given description. I have never heard of a case where this was the sole basis for a prosecution or, indeed a civil action for damages.
CIBJO is not even something you can join, thereby placing yourself voluntarily under their rules. If you want to tweet you have to sign up and then abide by Twitter's rules or they throw you off.
The British Pearl Association was a good attempt at a national body to supervise standards and ethics (you had to provide detailed references to become a full member) but unfortunately its founder has had to resign due to illness and the new people running it have subsumed it into their organisation and it has swiftly turned into something which, as far as I can make out, sells sma jewellery business insurance. Which is a huge shame

If you call a freshwater pearl akoya will you be sent to prison? Probably not, but you're still breaking the law.

These are the standards used by all gemological organizations. It's the proper way to measure pearls. Nobody forces you to do it, but if you're a professional, you follow it.

Yes, you can join CIBJO. There are delegates from every member country and there are private delegates who can join and vote. It is not some small local organization. It's the World Jewellery Organization that controls laws related to disclosure of all sorts of gems.

CIBJO is the current reason things like use of the word "cultured" before pearls is enforced.

 

[pearlescence]

I never said CIBJO was a small local organisation. Of course I comply as a professional. But as a former lawyer I simply questioned and question again the use of 'laws' instead of 'rules' or 'guidance'
You mention the use of the word 'cultured' before pearls..but if we slavishly followed this law/rule/whatever, our websites would be cluttered and unreadable. So we don't use it every time we write the word 'pearl'
And, no, if you depart from CIBJO rules you won't go to prison in the UK - the pearl party people prove that all the time unfortunately

 

[Pearl Dreams]

As an aside, on shrinking pearl sizes, this old thread from 2008 is interesting:

Staying in The Loop

This is an article I wrote for The Valuer in Australia. The latest issue is dedicated to pearls as a Grahame Brown memorial issue. Understanding the ever-changing market for cultured freshwater pearls Freshwater Pearls, the last century The cultured freshwater pearl industry has a history of...

www.pearl-guide.com