Why South Sea Pearls Are Precious?

Katherine Amelia Barnes

·An experienced professional in the jewelry industry, 2000 - Present

·Graduate Gemologist (GG)

·Certified Supreme Master Gemcutter (CSM)

·Skilled writer with work featured in various online and print publications

·Passionate about sharing her expertise with others

·Strong communicator and collaborator

·Respected and trusted by peers and clients alike

Over a century, people prefer the value of pearls according to size, color, shine, and rarity. 

South Sea pearl shows incredible levels of these value factors with its giant size, perfect shapes, and brilliant luster.

Due to the shiny color, extreme rarity, and excellent luster, South Sea pearls can range from $250 to $50,000 globally. 

On top of that, South Sea pearls take years to form and require an experienced hand to match the shape or build a pearl strand. Besides, the thickest nacre with supreme gem quality can serve up to generations.

As a result, these precious gemstones are highly desirable for jewelry lovers. 

Want more on these precious pearls? Scroll through the article to understand some rich value factors of South Sea pearls.

How Can I Identify Precious South Sea Pearls?

Due to the largest size and shiny colors, South Sea pearls are more accessible to identify than others.

Let's look at the variation of sizes and colors of pearls in detail.

Pearl Size

Regarding the giant size of pearls, South Sea pearls are the largest among cultured pearls.

Usually, the size starts with 8 to 9 mm and goes up to 20 mm in rare cases. 

However, the most popular size for South Sea pearl jewelry is around 10 to 13 mm.

In exceptional jewelry cases, a few pearl farms harvest sizes ranging from 8 to 9 mm.

Only a single pearl pendant uses 15 or 16-mm pearls to enhance the natural beauty.

Pearl Color

South Sea pearl comes in various colors: white, silver, yellow, and gold.

Because of its natural and organic beauty, these pearls offer rare and lustrous pink, green, or blue overtones.

Moreover, the champagne gold color with silver or rose hues is unique and rare for pearl jewelry.

Hence, the richness of colors and shades makes it valuable for pearl devotees.

Pearl Luster

With the thick and concentric layers of nacre, South Sea pearls offer a sharp and crisp luster.

Even the tight and compact layers intense the pearl luster with years. 

If you're inspecting the pearls closely, the pearl's crystalline nacre layers give an excellent reflection rate.

In short, these pearls show a soft and rich luster than any other type of pearl.

Pearl Shapes

Though South Sea pearls provide a variety of shapes like round, near round, oval, drop, or baroque, only 10-15% are perfectly round.

Due to such a low rate of perfect pearls, these jewelry are extremely rare in the market. 

As per Truly Experiences, non-round or baroque also offer unique and organic shapes but are less valuable than round ones.

So, check out the shapes before picking a South Sea pearl for jewelry or collection.

Reasons For The Value of South Sea Pearls 

The luxurious South Sea pearls are at peak value as the size, shape, luster, surface, and gem quality are top-notch.

Let's have a look at these reasons in detail.

Natural Large Size

If you're a gemstone collector or jewelry enthusiast, the impressive South Sea pearl size is the rarest option for your collection.

Even some giant pearl sizes can go up to 20 mm in diameter, making the gemstone desirable for any jewelry lover.

Now, the immense size found in the Pinctada Maxima as the genus takes 3 to 12 years to form these nacreous pearls.

Due to the size and rarity, a single pearl pendant of giant South Sea pearl brings the show to your neck.

Perfect Shapes 

Whether the jewelry requires round, semi-round, drop, oval, or baroque pearls, the beautiful and various organic shapes of South Sea pearls match the strand to add elegance.

According to Asseal, these proper sizes, shapes, colors, and luster match a gem strand's vibe to create a beautiful necklace.

Compared to irregular shapes, perfectly round ones are most desired and valuable for the jewelry enthusiast.

Also, baroque pearls kept the demand as these jewelry are flexible with an on-trend or casual look.

Fabulous Luster

When pearls deal with luster, thicker nacre creates a brilliant glow that greater the value of it. 

South Sea pearls offer a long nacre secretion period, which results in thicker and light-refractive nacre.

As a result, these pearls produce a clear and bright glow with vivid reflections. 

Further, the prolonger period creates extra nacre layers, leading to profound and radiant luster from the pearl's core.

So, the fabulous shine can create a beautiful South Sea pearl necklace or earrings for jewelry lovers.

Surface Cleanliness 

Regarding the perfect and smooth surfaces, South Sea pearls exhibit the highest levels of perfection.

Due to the clean, smooth, or spotless skin, these pearls offer a beautiful and mirror-like surface. 

On the other hand, the low rate of irregular ridge on the surface won't show any wrinkle in close inspection.

Hence, people can admire the unique luster quality, making these pearls highly desirable for jewelry.

Rarity & Gem Quality

South Sea pearls take up to a decade to form these giant nacreous pearls.

As a result, the cultivation process is extremely costly and limited. 

Based on Pure Pearls, the incredible gem quality increases the demand in the jewelry market.

So, the rarity and fine gem quality combo takes these pearls' worth to a new level.

What Makes South Sea Pearls So Special?

With the rarity and gem quality concerns, perfect South Sea pearls are hard to match for your desired necklace.

Even a string of pearls is challenging to collect by maintaining proper color, size, or shine.

Hence, a single South Sea pendant offers higher value than other pearl full-string necklaces.

Warp Up

South Sea pearl is precious as its rarest sizes, perfect shapes, brilliant luster, and incredible gem quality keep the value on peak.

Besides, the various shapes and colors create a beautiful necklace that matches your vibe to add elegance.

If you wear exceptional South Sea pearls carefully, the supreme quality can serve up to generations.

So, pick a precious piece of pearl jewelry from White Victoria to reflect the marvelous luster upon your loved one!