Pearl Sizes and Colors

SIZES

Pearls are measured in diameter in units of millimeters.  Freshwater pearls usually measure between 4.0 mm - 10.0 mm, as seen on the left.  All else equal (luster, surface quality, shape, etc.), large pearls do command a much higher value than small pearls.  The large pearl as seen on the bottom took 6 years to create.  Good roundness is contingent on the mollusk itself repeatedly making consistent and uniform coatings over the same pearl for however long the farmer nucleates.  It's a great risk to let the nucleation continue for so many years, as one bad storm could destroy an entire crop in a matter of hours.  For the pearl farmer, there is also considerable financial investment involved in waiting longer to harvest the pearls and take them to market. COLORS Surprisingly, pearls naturally occur in a grand variety of bright and beautiful colors. The majority of any given harvest is either white or cream, however, often found are peach, lavender, purple, and, to a lesser degree, pink. The rarer colors include blue, green, and gold. The rarest "color" we have ever found we have named "true mirror", as the body color is overtaken by the highest degree of luster we have ever seen in the world, to the extent that we honestly cannot tell what color it would have been had it been an average pearl. Out of the millions of pearls which have passed before our eyes, we have found only two "true mirror" pearls.  courtesy Kiyojo