What is the difference between South Sea pearl and cultured pearl?

South Sea pearls are usually round and larger than other cultured pearls, with the size ranging from 8mm to 20mm. These high-quality pearls are often white or golden with a high amount of luster. South Sea pearls are very desirable and often the most expensive of the cultured pearl varieties.

Are South Sea pearls worth it?

South Sea pearls are considered the most valuable. A strand of South Sea pearls can range from $1,000 to over $100,000. Cultured White South Sea Pearls AND Golden South Sea Pearls are the largest gemstones on the cultured market, making them both rare and very valuable.

Why South Sea pearls are expensive?

This oyster is much larger than the oysters that produce Akoya and Freshwater pearls, so the pearl that it produces is much larger as well. Because of the rarity and sensitivity of this type of oyster, cultivation of these pearls is much more difficult, making them more expensive.

Are cultured pearls fake?

Is a cultured pearl a real pearl? In a word, yes. Over 99% of the “real” pearls sold today are cultured pearls. These pearls are created the old fashioned way, but with a little assistance from man.

Do South Sea pearls increase in value?

Pearl Size Tiny seed pearls can be smaller than 1mm, while South Sea pearls, as large as 20mm, have been found. Only a 1 millimetre increase in pearl size will be a substantial jump in both appearance and value. The importance of a pearl’s size to its ultimate value depends on the pearl type.

What is the highest grade of pearls?

This grading system ranks pearls from AAA to A, with AAA being the highest.

AAA: Nearly flawless pearls with a high luster and a surface that’s 95 percent free of defects.
AA: High luster with a surface that’s 75 percent free of defects.
A: Lower luster and defects on more than 25 percent of the surface.

Which country is best to buy pearls?

The Best Places in the World to Buy Pearls

Akoya Pearls—Japan. (cnn.com) Akoya pearls are arguably the most recognizable types of pearls in the world.
Tahitian Pearls—Tahiti. (triplisher.com)
South Sea Pearls—Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. (thenational.ae)

Are cultured pearls worth anything?

Cultured South Sea Pearls – These are considered to be the most valuable type of cultured pearl on the market. One strand of South Sea pearls can range between $1,000 to $100,000. Cultured Tahitian Pearls – These beauties come in gorgeous, exotic colors. They come in a variety of sizes and pearl qualities.

Are natural pearls more valuable than cultured pearls?

Are cultured pearls considered real pearls? Cultured pearls are considered real pearls – but they aren’t formed without human intervention. Most pearls available on the market today are cultured. Natural pearls are much rarer and, therefore, much more valuable.

Where do the South Sea pearls come from?

All of our South Sea pearl necklaces, earrings and loose pearls are naturally colored, untreated, cultured pearls from the finest farms in Australia and other South Sea pearl-producing countries.

What’s the thickness of a South Sea pearl?

White and Golden South Sea pearls are known to have the thickest nacre layers of all cultured saltwater pearl types, averaging between 2.0-4.0mm thick, or more. Almost universally described by pearlers as “satiny” in look, the South Sea pearl’s luster is softer in appearance than that of the Japanese Akoya Pearls.

What makes a white South Sea pearl white?

Like every other cultured pearl variety out there, the visual phenomenon of Body Color, Overtone and Luster are due to the compaction and smoothness of the pearl’s crystalline nacre layers. White and Golden South Sea pearls are both nucleated using a perfectly round mother-of-pearl bead nucleus.

What’s the best way to grade South Sea pearls?

With Golden South Sea pearl grading, color also plays an important role. The best rule of thumb to go by is: the deeper the golden color, the rarer and more valuable the pearls are, all other quality factors being equal.

What is the difference between South Sea pearl and cultured pearl? South Sea pearls are usually round and larger than other cultured pearls, with the size ranging from 8mm to 20mm. These high-quality pearls are often white or golden with a high amount of luster. South Sea pearls are very desirable and often the most…