South Sea Pearl

The Akoya pearl is one of the most sought after kinds of cultured pearls that are grown through the akoya oysters. China and Japan are by far the largest producers of these pearls in the entire world. Most of the time, an Akoya pearl has the highest level of luster making it as one of the most highly valued of all pearls.

However, the pearl’s luster is only one of the five qualities that are being considered to determine the quality of the pearls. Aside from luster are the pearl’s surface, shape, color, and size.

The pearls’ color is vast which basically includes the colors blue, green, gold, white, cream, silver, black, champagne, and many more. These pearls also have many overtones that make it distinct from the basic color of the pearl. Akoya pearls are often white or cream in color accentuated with overtones like silver, cream, or rose. It is through the color of the pearl that a person is able to determine the best pearl for her.

The quality of pearl is also greatly influenced by its sheer size. This basically means that a larger sized pearl is valued of a much higher price. This is done by simply measuring the diameter of the pearl in terms of millimeters. An akoya pearl on the other hand is grown from the world’s smallest pearl producing oyster which means that they are often relatively small in size. The average measurement of an Akoya pearl often appears to be within 6-8 millimeters and is basically smaller in comparison with Tahitian, freshwater, and South Sea pearls. But then, most of the pearls that are being marketed today fall in the range of Akoya pearls.

However, the size of the pearls that is often marketed and sold today are that of Akoya’s. A pearl with a smooth surface usually has no bumps, discolorations, and spots. The main advantage of Akoya pearls is that they are most of the time shiny and reflective which in turn provides them with a high quality.

Freshwater pearls also vary in their shapes. They sometimes appear in tear-drop shapes, button shapes that are flattened into a disk-like button, ringed pearls, and the baroque pearls. Asymmetrical and abstract simply define baroque pearls. But the most admired shape of them all is the perfect round which only comes in rare times and with a very high price. An Akoya pearl usually come as round or near-round in shape. These main characteristics of Akoya pearls help elevate their quality. These days, Akoya pearls are some of the considered favorites by pearl enthusiasts and the perfect elements in making jewelries.