Some Pearl Jewelry Terms

Aragonite: Calcium carbonate found in nacre.

Baroque pearls: These are irregular shaped pearls these pearls are not round shape and they don’t have any kind of symmetry with uneven surface. They are cheapest pearls available.

Bib: Necklace with more than three strands.

Biwa Pearls: Pearls cultured in Biwa Lake, Japan

Blink Test: Test to identify pearls with bad nucleus; nucleus reflects light through its nacre.

Blemishes: Are little marks, irregularities on a pearl's surface.

Blister Pearls: Natural pearls which occur in outer shell of oyster when parasite intrudes in outer shell of mollusk.

Blue pearls: usually referred to pearls whose color derives from foreign contaminants or between nacre and nucleus bead.

Half pearls: Pearl which has one side completely flat and one rounded. Sometime one side of pearl is removed to remove blemishes.

Imitation Pearls: These are usually beads made up of glass, plastic or any material. Sometimes these beads are coated with pearl essence.

Iridescence: It is an optical effect due which pearl gets lustrous appearance.

Keshi pearls: Round natural pearls formed during cultivation process from small piece of mollusk’s shell.

Mallorca: Type of imitation pearls cultivated on Mallorca Island. Also known as Majorcan pearls. They are high quality imitations.