Pearl Glossary
A
Akoya
A Japanese oyster used to produce sea water cultured pearls.
B
Baroque
An irregularly shaped cultured pearl. There are three basic types of baroque pearls: semi-baroque, baroque and heavy
or fishtail baroque.
Biwa
A lake in Japan where freshwater pearls are harvested.
Black-Lip
The type of black-edged oyster that produces Tahitian pearls.
Blister
A natural pearl usually caused by the chance intrusion of a parasite through the outer shell of an oyster. Often,
cultured half-pearls are erroneously identified as blister pearls.
C
Choker
A necklace usually measuring 14 to 16 inches in length.
Color
A criterion of pearl selection, and influenced by the species of oyster.
Cultivation
The process by which an oyster or mussel is seeded, tended and harvested to produce a cultured pearl.
Cultured
The term describing a pearl formed by the insertion of a piece of mantle, with or without a nucleus, into an oyster or mussel.
D
Drilled
A term referring to a pearl that has a hole drilled through it as preparation for stringing.
E
Endless
A continuous strand of pearls, usually at least 22 inches in length that has no visible clasp.
F
Freshwater
A pearl formed in a freshwater mollusk. Usually nucleated with mollusk tissue rather than a shell bead.
G
Gold-Lip
The type of gold-edged oyster that produces yellowish South Sea pearls in the equatorial waters of Southeast Asia.
Graduated Strand
Usually 17 inches long, a necklace with the largest pearl at the center, with adjacent pearls gradually diminishing in size.
Grain
A unit of weight for natural pearls equal to 1/4 carat.
H
Hank
A knotted strand of pearls completely strung and matched but without a clasp.
Half-Frilled
The same as drilled, except the hole only penetrates halfway through the pearl; used for rings and earrings.
I
Ikecho
A mussel used in the cultivation of Japanese freshwater pearls.
Imitation
A bead having the appearance of a cultured pearl, man-made.
Invisible Clasp
Placing a screw in one pearl and a sleeve in the adjacent pearl of a strand achieve this. Location 2 pearls in a strand
that touch can identify these. Used generally in longer strands, invisible clasps allow the wearer to break the strand
up into shorter necklaces and bracelets.
J
K
Keshi
Small pearls formed naturally in oyster or mollusks that produce pearls, often called "seed" or "poppy" pearls.
L
Luster
The appearance of a pearl's surface judged by its brilliance and ability to reflect light.
M
Mabe
An oyster found in the waters off Japan and in Southeast Asia, used to cultivate hemispherical or "half-pearls".
Mallorca
A name for a certain kind of imitation pearls, taken from the island off the Spanish coast. Also "Majorca".
Mantle
The anatomical portion of each oyster, tiny tissue fragments of which are used to stimulate pearl formation in an oyster.
Matinee
A uniform necklace 22 inches in length.
Mother-of-Pearl
shiny shell interior of certain oysters and mollusks used to make decorative objects, buttons, and seeds for cultured pearls.
Mussel
A generic name for certain types of freshwater or sea water bivalve mollusks.
N
Nacre
The substance an oyster deposits layer by layer around an alien substance to form a pearl. This iridescent substance
secreted is material of which pearls are made of.
Natural
Any pearl found without man's intervention.
Nucleus
Usually a mother-of-pearl bead or the pig-toe shell, usually round that forms the core of most cultured pearl. The size
of the nucleus will determine the size of the pearl.
O
Opera
A uniform necklace 30 inches in length.
Orient
The state of luster, iridescence or luminosity of a pearl's surface.
P
Penguin Wing
The type of oyster that produces true mabe' pearls.
Princess
Usually 17 to 19 inches long; best for crew or high necklines and to be worn outside open collars.
Q
R
S
Shape
One of the most important facets of pearl grading the more perfectly round a pearl is the better and more prized.
Silver-Lip
The type of oyster found in Australia and Indonesia that produces lighter colored South Sea pearls.
Size
A criterion for pearl grading (the bigger, the more expensive). Finished pearls are classified by one or on-half millimeter graduations.
South Sea Pearls
A generic name for the pearls, usually 9mm-16mm in size, produced by the two groups of large pearl producing oysters.
These oysters can grow to 25-30 cm in size, and are much rarer than their Akoya counterparts
Strand
term synonymous with necklace when used with pearls. Pearl strands are usually strung with a knot between each pearl on silk.
T
U
V
W
X
Y
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