Freshwater pearl buying guide

Six decisions decide whether a strand is worth its price. Here they are in the order we make them at the sorting table, followed by the questions worth asking any seller, including us.

The six decisions

In the order they matter. The first two decide most of the price; the last four decide whether the strand is right for you.

01
Luster

How sharply the pearl reflects light. The single biggest driver of beauty and of price.
02
Surface

How clean the skin is. Small marks are normal; many, or deep ones, are not.
03
Shape

Round is rarest and dearest. Off-round and baroque can be lovely and cost far less.
04
Size

Measured in millimetres. Price rises steeply above 9 mm because large rounds are scarce.
05
Color

Body color plus overtone. A matter of taste, not grade, as long as it is natural.
06
Matching

How evenly the pearls on a strand agree in all of the above. Hard to do well; easy to see.

Decision one

Luster: look for a sharp reflection, not a soft glow.

Hold the strand under a single light and look at the reflection of the bulb on a pearl. On a high-luster pearl the edge of that reflection is crisp, like a reflection in a mirror, and you can almost read by it. On a low-luster pearl the reflection is milky and the edge is blurred.

Luster comes from the quality of the nacre, the layers the mussel laid down, so it is the truest sign of a well-grown pearl. It is also the one thing that cannot be improved after harvest. Buy the best luster you can afford and compromise elsewhere.

Decision two

Surface: a few marks are normal, and honest.

Pearls are grown by an animal in a pond, and almost every one carries some trace of that: a tiny pit, a faint ridge, a spot of darker nacre. Sellers call these characteristics. A strand with none at all is either astonishingly expensive or not what it claims to be.

What matters is how many, how deep, and where. Marks on the side that faces the neck are harmless. Deep pits or cracks anywhere are a reason to pass. Our Clean grade means marks are visible only on close inspection; Flawless at this size is vanishingly rare.

Decision three

Shape: round is the rarest, not the only good one.

Most freshwater pearls grow off-round, because there is no bead inside to hold the shape. True rounds are the small fraction of a harvest that happened to grow evenly, which is why they carry the highest price per millimetre.

Near-round pearls look round on the neck and cost noticeably less. Oval, drop and baroque shapes are a different look entirely, and a well-matched baroque strand can be more interesting than a round one. Decide which look you want first; then pay for roundness only if roundness is the look.

Decision four

Size: half a millimetre shows, a whole millimetre changes the strand.

Pearl size is the diameter in millimetres. On a strand, 6 to 7 mm reads as delicate, 7 to 8 mm is the classic size most people picture, 8 to 9 mm has clear presence and 9 mm and above is a statement.

Price does not climb evenly with size. Because large pearls take longer to grow and fewer of them come out round and clean, each millimetre above 8 mm costs much more than the one before. If you are choosing between a bigger strand and a better one, choose better.

See the size guide

Decision five

Color: choose what suits you, and make sure it is natural.

Freshwater pearls grow naturally in white, cream, pink, peach and purple, and the color is in the nacre itself, not applied to it. Overtone is the second color that shows in the reflection, often rose or silver on a white pearl.

Color is not a grade. A fine purple strand is not better or worse than a fine white one. The only thing to check is that the color is natural and untreated, which is true of every strand we sell. Dyed pearls, often sold in black or bright gold, show color pooled in pits and around drill holes.

Shop by color

Decision six

Matching: the difference between a strand and a handful of pearls.

A strand is forty to sixty pearls that have to agree with each other in luster, size, shape, color and overtone. Sorting a harvest into strands that match is slow, skilled work, and it is where a great deal of the value in a good strand lives.

Look along the strand under one light. Every pearl should reflect the same way. Lay it flat; the pearls should step down evenly in size, if graduated, or hold the same size, if uniform. A strand that passes both tests was matched by someone who cared.

Questions to ask any seller

Including us. If a seller cannot answer these plainly, buy elsewhere.

What does your grade mean?

There is no industry standard. Ask for the scale in writing. Ours is published and printed on every product page.
Is the color natural?

Dyeing and bleaching are common and legal, but must be disclosed. Every color we sell is natural and untreated.
Is this the strand I will receive?

Ask whether the photograph is of the real product or a render. Ours are unretouched photographs of the piece itself.
What is it strung on?

A knot between every pearl is the standard for a strand meant to last. Ours are knotted on PE fiber, which looks identical to silk but can last for decades instead of needing restringing every few years.
What is the return window?

A seller confident in a strand will take it back. We give you 60 days and pay the return postage.