Know exactly what you are buying
300 pearl and jewellery terms, each one linked to a piece you can hold.
Where would you like to begin?
Types of Pearl
Freshwater, saltwater, South Sea, keshi, and how to tell a real pearl from a coated bead.
Shapes
Round, baroque, drop, coin and the rest, and what each one is worth paying for.
Quality & Grading
What AAA actually means, plus lustre, nacre, orient and the claims to be sceptical of.
Size & Length
Millimetres, choker to rope, bangle sizing, and which length suits which neckline.
Jewellery Styles
Jhumka, mangalsutra, kundan, polki, temple work and the rest of the Indian vocabulary.
Gold & Hallmarking
Karat versus carat, 22K and 18K, 916, plating, vermeil and what a BIS hallmark proves.
Gemstones & Cuts
Ruby, emerald, sapphire and zircon, their Indian names, and the cuts from princess to cabochon.
Metals & Plating
925 silver, platinum, brass and the alloys and finishes a piece is actually built from.
Clasps & Construction
Clasps, knotting, drilling and settings, the parts that decide whether a piece survives.
Care & Authenticity
Storing pearls, the tooth test, restringing, and the astrological terms buyers ask about.
Buying & Value
Making charges, wastage, gold rate, GST, buyback and what a piece is actually worth.
Types of Pearl
25–35 of 35
Quahog Pearl
A purple non-nacreous pearl from the North Atlantic hard clam. Rare, and found by accident in the food trade.
Rice Pearl
A small elongated freshwater pearl shaped like a grain of rice, usually with visible surface rippling.
10 in stock · from ₹2,500
Saltwater Pearl
A pearl grown in an oyster in the sea. Rounder and rarer than freshwater, and considerably more expensive.
42 in stock · from ₹4,760
Scallop Pearl
A non-nacreous pearl from a scallop, often maroon or purple, with a fine granular shimmer.
Sea of Cortez Pearl
A dark, strongly iridescent cultured pearl from the rainbow-lipped oyster of Mexico. Produced in tiny quantities.
Seed Pearl
A very small pearl, under about 2mm, used in clusters, embroidery and temple work.
9 in stock · from ₹5,040
Shell Pearl
A bead ground from shell and coated to look like a pearl. Not grown by a mollusc, so not a pearl.
Souffle Pearl
A large hollow freshwater pearl, grown around mud that is later washed out. Very big and very light.
South Sea Pearl
The largest commercially grown pearl, from the gold-lipped or silver-lipped oyster. Typically 9mm to 16mm, white to deep gold.
39 in stock · from ₹7,700
Tahitian Pearl
A naturally dark saltwater pearl from the black-lipped oyster of French Polynesia. Grey to near-black, with green, aubergine or peacock overtones.
38 in stock · from ₹400
Tissue Nucleated
Grown around a scrap of mantle tissue instead of a bead, so the pearl is solid nacre throughout. The freshwater method.