Jewelry Blog

>The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) bases the value and beauty of pearls on their rating of six characteristics: luster (the deep-seated glow that seems to emanate from within the pearl and that results from the thickness of the nacre), nacre thickness, color, surface perfection, shape, and harmony (the overall appearance of pearls as they appear on a strand or a piece of multi-pearl jewelry). We feel that the pearls in our jewelry should all have similar grades of color, luster, nacre thickness, shape and surface perfection.
Pearls are measured in millimeters. When Japanese cultured pearls first hit the market in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, they were very small in size, usually 3 to 4mm. Today, standard-sized pearls range from 5 to 7mm in diameter, which is approximately 1/4 of an inch. Pearls larger than 7mm are exponentially expensive. They are the birthstone for the month of June.