How to Choose a Pearl Necklace

So What is Nacre anyway?

Good question! Nacre is the substance which makes up a pearl.

There are two types of pearls: those which have a nucleus at the center and those which do not. Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls have a natural, rounded shell bead and a small piece of oyster tissue at their center. This forms the core of the pearl. By contrast, most Freshwater pearls are tissue-nucleated only, meaning that they do not have a shell bead at the center, just the tissue.

The traditional culturing methods for Akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea pearls use a piece of the inner lining of shell from another mussel which has been smoothed and rounded into a bead. Because the nucleus itself it is organic, the oyster is more likely to accept its presence. If so, it covers the nucleus with layer upon layer of conchiolin… ie: the nacre!

What to Do

So here’s what to look for in the strand you’re evaluating:

• You will notice how round the pearls are (do they appear to “wobble”?). Off-round is not bad per se, but round is usually more valuable.
• You will notice how well matched in overall quality and color each of the pearls are. Do you see surface marks, bumps, dots, etc? The cleaner the surface, the more valuable. Also, all the pearls should have similar surface quality. Color variation is up to you, but if you want all the pearls the same color, rolling will show you that.
• You will be able to spot variations in nacre thickness. When you roll the strand, look for any variations of light and dark inside the pearl. This is called “blinking”. It means that the nacre is thin enough for you to see the bead nucleus through it, and that the nacre thickness is uneven.