Jewelry Guide: Classic Pearls

Pearls are the sophisticated woman’s adornment. Whether she wears them around her neck, in her ears or around her wrist, they make a powerful statement about her sense of style and personal taste. If she chooses to go classic, she will select Akoya pearls like those offered at National Pearl.

The Akoya pearl type is classic because it has a perfectly round shape and have a bright, natural luster. This kind of pearl is often popularly called a cultured pearl, even though other pearl types undergo culturing. The process of culturing simply means human intervention helped to produce the pearl rather than allowing the process to happen naturally on its own. A small Mother-of-Pearl bed is placed inside an oyster, and the oyster coats the pearl with many layers of a substance known as nacre. The nacre builds up and hardens to create the pearl.

The Akoya pearl is usually white or cream and cultured in the Akoya oyster in the saltwater seas of Japan and China. This pearl has overtones of rose or silver sometimes, too. They have a lot of similarities to the freshwater pearls from China, but you can tell the difference when you place them side by side. The Akoya is smoother and rounder and usually is about 6.0 to 8.5 mm in size.

Women who choose freshwater pearls often have a preference of color for their strands. The coloring on pearls can often happen through a natural process, but these pearls are also treated to get a greater variety of colors. Jewelers and pearl artisans advise buyers to purchase pearls based on their complexions, even if they have other color favorites. This helps the pearls to look more natural when they are worn.

Although the Akoya pearl is round in shape, other pearl types give buyers choices for other shapes. Near-round pearls are slightly flattened and long. Button pearls look exactly like their name implies: They are flat disks and often chosen for earring settings. Another popular choice for earrings is the drop pearl, which resembles a tear drop. Baroque and slightly baroque pearls are irregular in shape altogether. These are the most abstract pearl shapes and sometimes can move as far away from round shapes as possible.

No matter which pearl a woman prefers, she will be seen as the elegant rarity in the room when she wears hers. They communicate to everyone who sees her that she is a treasure. Many other jewelry styles come and go, but pearls are a classic that will be around for the ages.