When it comes to cultured pearls South Sea pearls is definitely regarded as the ultimate luxury pearls. This pearl is produced by the Pinctada maxima which is an oyster that has gold-lip and silver-lip and is regarded as the biggest pearl producing mollusk grafted in the present day. Gems as these can grow up to 22 mm in diameter and when you compare it to the average akoya pearl which is mostly 7 mm, the South Sea pearl can grow quite huge.
Even though the south sea pearls tend to be quite rare, they are regarded as one of the most pricy pearls that are sold today. However a universally accepted system for evaluating and grading the pearls still does not exist.
Nicholas Paspaley, from Paspaley Pearling Company, Australia, in the year 1995 brought forth a group of South Sea pearl wholesalers and producers for formation of South Sea Pearl Consortium (SSPC), which is a non-profit educational organization. The chief motif of this consortium is to instruct and teach retailers, jewelry designers, wholesalers and even consumers to gain understanding about the quality and attributes of South Sea pearls.
Let Us Know About A Few Important Virtues of Pearls
Size
One of the chief factors lined to South Sea pearls is that they are really huge in size. These pearls are rarely harvested as small as 7 mm and they generally grow as big as 22mm. in fact, the average size of these pearls is 13 mm. When the grading factors are equal, the bigger the size of the pearl gets, the more expensive it gets.
Natural Luster
Basically the term ‘luster’ is used to indicate the quantity and the quality of the light that is reflected from the surface of South Sea pearl. The luster of the South Sea pearl usually is not very bright or sharp such as the akoya pearl. This happens due to its relative thickness which is about 0.5 to 1.5 microns together with the pearls roughness of the aragonite platelet of which the pearl is composed.
This is why the South Sea pearls are usually warmer and come with a luster that’s quite muted. This is regarded as one of the most regal attributes of this pearl. When you take cultured pearls into consideration, the sharper and higher the luster gets the more pricy and expensive it would be. They also come with a very thick nacre layer, which is about 5 mm.