Pearls are known as the gemstone of lovers protecting innocence and symbolizing purity- which is why they are often worn at weddings. Their value comes from the consistency, size and shape, type, and amount of 'luster' that the pearl exhibits. Pearls go with everything and are a timeless fashion statement. Pearls are often passed down from generation to generation in families because when appropriately cared for their beauty last forever.
All pearls are cleaned once removed from the water. The solultion used during this process to clean the Pearls has a bleach base. This is a common proactice with Pearls within the industry. The bleach does not change the color or appearance of the Pearls in any way.

Consistency:
It is desirable in strands of pearls for all of the pearls to be of about the same size, shape and color. If it is a graduated strand (growing from small to large) the matching pearls adjacent to one another should match. If it is a multi-color strand then the colors that are closest to one another should be of similar hues. If it is a solid round strand of same sized pearls the pearls should roll smoothly and consistently across a flat surface.

Size and Shape:
The size of a pearl depends upon the type of mollusk it is grown in and how long it has been left to grow, along with the size of the original piece of particulate matter that the pearl was formed around. The shape depends on if it is freshwater or saltwater with the rarest pearl shape being perfectly round and symmetrical. If a pearl is not round it will often be called "baroque" and these are used in many of today's fashionable pearl pieces.

Pearl Type:
There are several levels to the type of a pearl. On the most base level pearls are broken into Freshwater and Saltwater. This simply refers to the type of water that the mollusk they came from lives in. Freshwater pearls tend to be baroque while saltwater are more round. After the water type comes Cultured or Natural. A Natural pearl is just that, it comes from an oyster where an irritant has become naturally lodged inside the mollusk. Layers of nacre form around the irritant to form a pearl without any help from mank. A Cultured pearl is the result of a person placing the initial irritant (often a small piece of shell from another mollusk) inside the oyster . Watch a video of how pearls are cultured. Another step to pearl type is where the pearl came from. Common pearl types are Akoya (coming from Japan or China appearing white to cream in color), White South Sea (large pearls from Australia, Myanmar, or Indonesia appearing white to golden in color), and Black South Sea or Tahitian (Coming only from Tahiti and appearing white to black and every color in between). The last part of pearl type is if it has been treated or not. Some pearls are dyed or bleached to achieve their color- this is noticeable when you look closely at the drill hole in a pearl and notice that the interior is a different color. Over time however, if not properly cared for, pearls will change color as luster is worn away.

Luster:
Luster is the high reflective shine and slight iridescence, or ability to see other colors within the pearls overall color. It is created by the many layers of calcium carbonate, called nacre, that is secreted by the mollusk and coats the irritant or seed. A fine luster will be free of spots, cracks, bumps, or hot spots- which appear slightly black and is referred to as the Nacre of the pearl. A natural or un-cultured pearl is almost 100% nacre while a cultured pearl has only a few layers. The thicker the layer, the more rare and valuable the pearl. Pearl is the birthstone for June.