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At American Pearl, we subscribe to the philosophy that seeing is believing. That's why we have gone to the trouble of illustrating to you just how pearl dealers grade their own pearls. So let this "quality check" ultrasharp photograph help identify the quality you are looking for. Be careful not to let a seller's A+ quality sneak by you as a AAA or a blemished, spotted or included pearl (what some say is a 95% clean pearl) slip by you as a AAA. Here's your chance to look through the viewfinder and bring your purchase into focus.
Please note that American Pearl primarily sells only perfectly clean, flawless pearls. Pearls found at other sources that are blemished are worth half us much. You can count on American Pearl for the cleanest most valuable pearls in the marketplace. American Pearl adheres to the The Mikimoto Pearl Grading System where surface perfection or a blemish free surface found in the AAA and Collection quality is the key to the most valuable pearls in the world. Please note that Collection quality is American Pearl's own grade and is one step higher in luster than AAA.
For Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearls, Mikimoto has popularized the A, A+, AA and AAA grading system. This grading system is correlated to the Gemological Institute of America or GIA. It is simply an easy way, developed by one of America's largest pearl retailers, to simplify the grading for a much deeper nomenclature. As such, American Pearl uses this grading system to describe the quality of the Japanese Akoya Cultured pearl strands that it offers as they are compared to Mikimoto.
This grading system deals more with the surface cleanliness of the pearls and their luster. Why? With over 100 years of pearl culturing and harvesting experience, Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearls exhibit the widest range of luster found in any pearls in the world. In fact, as one climbs up the rungs of the ladder from A to A+, from A+ to AA and from AA to AAA quality, the pearls exhibit more luster. In the A, A+, AA and AAA nomenclature, one is primarily concerned with the incremental increase of the luster of each of the pearls and surface cleanliness. This grading system was specifically designed by Mikimoto to grade pearls from Japan, the Japanese Akoya Oyster, because of the wide range of luster and surface quality produced by this oyster. In effect, this grading system does a good job in differentiating the nuances of luster and cleanliness.
Quality |
Luster |
Surface |
AAA |
Exceptional, Mirror-Like Reflection |
Blemish-Free Surface |
AAA1 |
Minimally Blemished Surface |
AA |
Superb, Clear Reflection |
Very Slightly Blemished |
"Hanadama Label" |
AA1 |
Slightly Blemished |
A+ |
Very Good, Clear Refletion
|
Very Slightly Blemished |
A+1 |
Slightly Blemished |
A |
Good, Clear Reflection |
Very Slightly Blemished |
A1 |
Slightly Blemished |
Again, we do offer a pearl grade that is higher than AAA quality called Collection Quality. Collection is the highest quality pearl strand with the most luster. Luster is the mirror-like quality of a pearl. It is the amount of light that reflects off a pearl's surface. Luster or a pearl's magical glow is the reason why people throughout history have become intrigued with pearls. Collection Quality pearls have a thicker nacre (skin of the pearl) than AAA quality. In fact, AAA quality exhibts "very high luster" or "exceptional luster" on the pearls whereas Collection Quality exhibits "extremely high luster" or the maximium luster the oyster can produce.
One should know that there are different kinds of pearls, from different oysters whose grading systems are different. With the birth of the South Sea pearl from either Australia, Indonesia and Tahiti, approximately half a century ago, pearl farmers and pearl dealers began using a different grading system to grade the surface cleanliness of White Australian South Sea Pearls and Tahitian pearls. Why? Because of the South Sea and Tahitian Pearl's larger sizes and consistency in luster, pearl dealers are more interested in the surface cleanliness of the pearls. Most South Sea Pearls have an extremely thick nacre (the skin of the pearl). This is why there is more consistency in the luster of South Sea Pearls. Nacre and luster are often directly correlated. Thicker nacre pearls can deliver more luster. In contrast, the grading system for Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearls is concerned with describing the incremental luster of a pearl (combined with a pearl's cleanliness). The South Sea Pearl grading system, the A, B, C and D nomenclature, is particularly concerned with describing the level of blemishing on the surface of the pearls.
The use of the A, A+, AA and AAA grading system for South Sea Pearls can also be used to describe the luster of South Sea and Tahitian pearls. When pearl dealers trade South Sea pearls & Tahitian pearls amongst themselves outside of the auction system, they primarily use the A, B, C and D nomenclature which gives a more accurate description of the surface cleanliness of a pearl.
An educated consumer who is shopping for a truly fine quality pearls should understand that there are particular grading systems suited for each oyster and the pearls it produces. So if you are shopping for South Sea Pearls, Find out what the quality of the surface of the pearls are using the A, B, C and D nomenclature.
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