Do you ever wonder why prices of pearl jewelry vary so much? 

You see an 18-inch pearl necklace priced at, for example, $9.99, $49.99, $250 or $1200 etc.  That is all dependent on the genuineness, rarity and quality.  The one at $9.99 may not be a better buy than the one at $49.99. 

For eBay shopping, the key to understand the difference is in the description and pictures the seller posted.  Sellers normally advertise a high quality item as high quality.  There are bad apples unfortunately.  They advertise a low quality item as high quality, but never oppositely.  Avoid those sellers providing too little, incorrect and/or contradictory descriptions, and blurry pictures.  Also, avoid those sellers with low % positive feedbacks. 

Check the shipping cost and return policy carefully.  Sometimes I see pearl jewelry with low-starting prices have a shipping cost as expensive as a buy-it-now price of a better quality piece elsewhere. 

eBay does not separate misleading descriptions from honest descriptions.  Your only defense from buying an inferior product for your money is your knowledge on pearl: READ THIS GUIDE. 

When you buy a piece of pearl jewelry, select a few items you are interested.  Look at the pictures and read the description very well.  Ask the seller questions.  If they don't answer in a reasonable response time, walk away.  I am writing this guide to provide correct information and explain how pearls stated in the description should look like and what is truely valuable.  I hope to help those buyers make a wise comparison and choose a better buy.

Genuine Pearl vs. Imitation

Natural Pearls:

All genuine pearls are produced in a live mollusk (oysters, mussels and clams) of certain types.  In nature, when a foreign body such as a grain of sand or parasite gets into the mollusk, it secretes certain substances to coat the foreign body to reduce its irritation.  These substances crystallize forming layers of nacre (rhymes with ACRE) around the foreign body making a pearl.  These natural pearls are harvested in Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.  They are rare and extremely expensive.

Cultured Pearls:

Nowadays, most pearls are produced in farmed (cultured) mollusks.  Humans put beads or pieces of soft tissues from another mollusk in them copying the natural process.  Due to this pearl culture, genuine quality pearls become available at affordable prices. 

Imitation Pearls:

Imitation pearls are entirely artificial.  They are made from round glass, plastic or mother of pearl dipped in prepared ground fish scales, or plastic substances, or ground mother of pearls (shells).  Some of them have quite convincing appearance.  But they look all the same among the cluster or string of pearls in jewelry.  Genuine pearls have slight natural variations. 

• The Tooth Test: If you have a chance to compare genuine and imitation pearls, here is an easy test.  Tap a pearl VERY LIGHTLY with your front teeth.  This does not damage the pearl.  A genuine pearl has a gritty feel, whereas an imitation pearl has a smooth, hard feel.  This test does not work with dentures. 

Types of Pearls That Appear in the Description

Pearl-producing mollusks can be farmed anywhere, if the water conditions are suitable for them.  For example, I have read an article that the emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, started producing Akoya and South Sea pearls.  It is tough to tell the locality only from the type of pearls unless the seller states it in the description.  The following types are ones you might see often.

Freshwater/FW Pearls:

They are produced in the mollusks farmed in freshwater (rivers and lakes).  That is not sea or ocean, which is saltwater.  These pearls are modestly priced.  The largest producer by far is China.  Some freshwater pearls are also produced in Japan, Ireland and parts of the US.  Biwa is the largest lake in Japan.  Biwa pearls are originally produced there. 

Freshwater pearls are usually 5 to 7 mm or smaller.  But larger pearls (nearly 10 mm) are recently produced.  Telltale signs are shapes.  They are noticeably off-round; flat round, button-shaped, potato-shaped or sometimes rice-shaped.  They have a wide natural color range from white and cream to orange, purple, rose, even chocolate brown.

I see many Chinese sellers selling quite a few freshwater pearls as Akoya or other more expensive pearls (explained below).  If you look at the pictures, you can tell it is not true by the shape and/or uneven luster from pearl to pearl.  I don't know these sellers are trying to scam on you on purpose or just innocently trying to be more visible to the search.  But it is a gross misrepresentation anyway and I would walk away from such a seller. 

• For example I see descriptions like "South Sea freshwater pearl".  Actually such a pearl doesn't exist.  I translate this as they are freshwater pearls that have some similarity to a South Sea pearl. 

Akoya Pearls:

Akoya is the Japanese name of the pearl-producing, saltwater mollusk grown in Japan.  Kokichi Mikimoto, Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise are the Japanese pioneers who developed the methods of farming Akoya and pearl production around the turn of the 20th century.  They are usually more round and have intense luster.  The colors are subtle cream, grey, white, pink and rarely black.  Small Akoya pearls are modestly priced.  The pearls larger than 7 mm get much more expensive than smaller ones.

• Akoya is not a name of town or any locality.

South Sea Pearls:

They are mainly produced in the waters of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.  They are usually large (10 mm to 14 mm) and highly lustrous.  They are round to very slightly off-round.  Larger pearls are available but much more expensive.  The colors are warm pinkish white to silvery white to rich golden.  High quality south sea pearls are very expensive.  They are generally more expensive than Tahitian black pearls.

• South Sea pearls and Tahitian black pearls are two distinct types of pearls produced in different species of mollusks. 

Tahitian Black Pearls:

These are also large pearls produced uniquely in the waters of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.  The base color ranges from gray to black without any brown tinge.  The most coveted color is black base color with iridescent blue, green, red, and purple overtone.  Iridescence is the type of colors you see in spilled motor oil for example.  The iridescence on pearls is much more subtle though.  This type of color is called "peacock".  They are usually 8 mm -11 mm.  Larger pearls are available but the prices jump up.  High quality Tahitian black pearls are very expensive.  If the price seems too good to be true, probably it is.

Tahitian black pearls with various overtone. Can you tell which is the "peacock"?

Mabe/Blister Pearls:

They are formed on the shell inside the mollusk.  The shapes are usually half round to pear.  Unusual shapes like tiny Buddha can be made depending on the cast placed in the shell.  These pearls are modestly priced. 

Baroque Pearls and Keshi Pearls:

Baroque pearls are any pearls that are not round and have interesting irregular shapes.  They are usually less valuable than round pearls.  They can be used in jewelry for an attractive design.

Keshi pearls are a type of baroque pearls, and are formed after cultured pearl-producing mollusks accidentally spit out the nuclei (beads or tissues).  They are usually small as Keshi means poppy/poppyseed in Japanese.  But larger Keshi pearls are also available. 

Shell/Seashell Pearls, Faux Pearls and Majorca Pearls:

These are imitations, as I explained above.  They are valued much less.  The seller should say it is an imitation in the description.  If they don't say it is genuine clearly, the chances are more on the fake side.

I see some Chinese sellers selling quite a few imitation pearls as genuine Akoya or other more expensive pearls.  If you look at the pictures, the shape, color and luster are too uniform to be genuine pearls.  Many of them are sold for less than $9.99 and expensive S & H and insurance charges. 

• There is nothing wrong with imitation pearls as long as you like the piece, the fact is FULLY DISCLOSED and it is priced fairly.   

Mother of Pearl:

It is not a pearl but a seashell. 

Quality You Can See in the Description and Pictures.

Nacre and Luster:

Pearls with thick, densely crystallized nacre are more durable and valuable.  They have high luster showing strong contrast between the highlighted and surrounding areas on the pearl surface.  Ones with thin and poorly crystallized nacre may have resulted from shorter nacre-forming durations and improper farming conditions.  They appear dull.  Genuine pearls have deep glow, while imitation pearls have shine. 

Notice the different degrees of luster.  The left pearl has higher luster showing the sharpest contrast between the highlighted and surrounding darker areas.  These are slightly off-round freshwater pearls.

Color:

Color of pearl is the combination of body color, overtone and orient (iridescent glow from nacre).  Look for the color that suits you.  Pay attention to the description to see if the pearls are bleached or dyed.  Those pearls are less valuable. 

Regularity of Form and Surface Texture:

Round pearls are more valuable.  But pearls with very thin nacre can be perfectly round because of the shape of beads they put in.  Pay attention to the luster to see if this is the case. 

Surface blemishes are small bumps, pits, cracks, grooves, ridges etc.  Pearls totally free of blemishes are rare and more expensive.  But pearls with a few minor blemishes are acceptable, and can be placed in jewelry so that they are less noticeable.  For example, blemishes can be oriented in the back or bottom of the jewelry or close to the setting.  Too many blemishes diminish the beauty and value.  Look at the pictures carefully. 

• I see a lot of pearls with low starting prices have severe blemishes like circling grooves and ridges around pearls.  Some of the sellers call the grooves and ridges "striation".  

Make of Jewelry:

Each pearl is unique in color and size.  A pearl necklace with matched uniform diameter is more valuable than one with graduated diameter.  But a pearl necklace with exactly same size, same luster and same color may be fake.  This applies to any other jewelry with clustered pearls.

Can you tell genuine or fake?  The left is genuine showing slight color and shape variation.  The right is fake, even though it looks very nice and even knotted between the pearls.

The purpose of the knots between pearls is to prevent scattering and losing pearls when the necklace is broken.  If the qualities of the pearls are similar, a necklace with knots is more valuable than one without.

I do not recommend the design strung alternating pearls and other gemstones or precious metal.  The pearl nacre has Mohs hardness 2.5-4.5.  Most other gemstones are much harder and precious metals have hardness similar to pearl.  This design causes scratches and wear on pearls.   

Note on Metal Used in Pearl Jewelry:

• Pay attention to the description of metal used in pearl jewelry.   
• In general, more expensive metals such as solid gold (14K or 18K, rarely 22K) and platinum are used with genuine, high quality pearls.
• Be cautious about a jewelry piece that looks very high quality but uses silver, Vermeil, gold filled or gold plated metals.  It may be fake.
• For more information on gold, please take a look at my another guide: Tips on Buying Gold Jewelry on eBay: What That K Means

EBay shoppers, know what you are getting, and pay a fair price both for you and the seller.  You can see many guides on pearls in eBay reviews & guides.  It is alarming that many of them mention scams/misrepresentation/bait-and-switch on eBay.  I hope this guide help you find a right piece of pearl jewelry.  Good luck!

If you learned something new and useful from this guide, please click 'yes' below.  Thank you!