Useful Terminology and Credits

Useful Terminology

  • Akoya pearl – cultured pearl cultivated by bivalve mollusk, Akoya Shell
  • Cultured pearl – pearl formation involved insertion of mantle tissue with nucleus or without nucleus into mother oyster by man
  • Baroque – Irregular Shape
  • Semi-baroque – good irregular shape
  • Biwa Pearl
    • As Lake Biwa dominated production of fresh water pearls in the past, “Biwa Pearl” was used to describe Fresh Water Pearls
    • Now, it has become synonym for good quality freshwater cultured pearl
  • Button Pearl – button shape fresh water pearl
  • White South Sea Pearl – pearl cultivated from White lipped oyster
  • Black South Sea Pearl – pearl cultivated from Black lipped oyster
  • Golden South Sea Pearl – pearl cultivated from Golden/Yellow lipped oyster
  • Mabe Pearl – composed cultured pearl, composed of 3 layers
  • Blister Pearl –Mabe pearl with rim
  • Keshi – irregular shape natural pearl, by-product of S.S.P, Akoya C.P. or F.W.P.
  • Mother-of-pearl – smooth inner lining of shell
  • Choker – uniform size pearl strand in 14’/16’
  • Matinee – uniform size pearl necklace in 22’
  • Opera – uniform size pearl necklace in 30’
  • Graduated Strand – largest pearl in the centre and the adjacent pearls reduce in size gradually

Material Credits

  • Cultured Pearls, The First Hundred Years, by Andy Muller.
  • Pearl Buyer Guide, by Renee Newman GG.
  • Gemstones of World, by Walter Schumann.
  • Pearls, by Elisabeth Strack.
  • The Pink Pearl, A Natural Treasure of the Caribbean, by David Federman, Hubert Bari, David Lam, Susan Hendrickson & Edmond Chin.
  • Course material from the Gemmological Association of Great Britain
  • Material from the Gemological Institute of America
  • Special thanks to Japan Pearl Exporters’ Association in providing Video on about Cultivation of Akoya Pearl