Choosing the pearl for you

A pearl is a precious and highly personal piece of jewellery, often with significant sentimental value.

When choosing a pearl, quality should therefore be the first consideration.

It is also helpful to understand how pearls are created, and how their characteristics are defined. This brief guide to South Sea pearls has all of the essential information to help you in choosing one of these beautiful gems.

Size

The most striking feature of a pearl, defining its first impression, is usually its size. It’s no accident that the most breathtaking pearls are usually the largest. Allure South Sea Pearls range in size from 8mm-20mm, with some rare gems exceeding 20mm.

The price of a pearl increases exponentially with its size.

In general terms, each millimetre adds 30% to the value of the gem, so that the price of a 20mm flawless white-pink pearl will be many times that of its 10mm counterpart.

Lustre

A pearl’s lustre is not just a measure of its reflective properties.

Lustre refers to the effect produced by light travelling through the numerous layers of nacre and reflecting from within the pearl. A pearl with high lustre has both a beautifully reflective surface and a luminous depth, such that it appears to glow.

South Sea pearls are famed for a particular feature of their lustre called ‘orient’. Orient refers to a subtle and enchanting play of colour across the surface of the pearl, which only occurs when the nacre is exquisitely well-formed.

Colour

Often what draws us to a pearl is its colour. Pearl colour is a particularly personal choice, perhaps complementing your style or skin tone or marking a significant occasion.

South Sea pearls come in a wide range of colours, from timeless white and cream to opulent gold and dramatic black.

While pearl colour does not on its own denote value, the rarer and more in-demand a colour becomes, the more valuable it will be.

Complexion

A flawless complexion is exceptionally rare and highly valued.

Just as diamonds almost always have internal flaws or inclusions, most pearls will show small marks or spots. These marks are considered characteristics rather than imperfections, though a pearl with very visible imperfections in its complexion is worth significantly less.

Shape

Pearls are shaped by nature, and come in a myriad of forms. Each has its own beauty, and the value of a particular shape is largely determined by its rarity and how sought-after it is.