How can you tell the difference between a good pearl and a mediocre pearl if you can’t actually see it in person, or if you are buying pearls over the Internet? Read on to find out about how pearls are graded.

Currently there is no universally accepted standard system available for grading pearls. However, two types of grading systems are commonly used by many jewelry stores:

-         AAA-A system, and

-         A-D system

AAA-A system

This grading system is commonly used to grade freshwater and Akoya pearls. However, Tahitian and South Sea pearls are also graded under this system. In case of AAA-A grading system, pearls are classified into three categories: AAA, AA and A.

An AAA grade pearl is considered the best quality pearl with a clean (flawless) surface and high luster. Usually 95% of the surface of an AAA grade pearl should be flawless.

The AA grade pearls are also considered good quality gems, although they do not have the same level of luster in comparison to AAA pearls. Usually 75% of the surface of an AA grade pearl remains free from flaws.

Relatively lower quality pearls with low luster and more than 25% of defective surface are considered A grade pearls. If you are planning to buy pearl jewelry for yourself or for someone else then try to purchase AAA or AA graded pearls.

A-D system

The A-D grading system is mainly used in French Polynesia to grade Tahitian and South Sea pearls. This is why this particular grading system is also known as the “Tahitian system”.

Under this grading system:

• A grade pearls are the highest quality gems with high luster and lowest level of defects on their surface. The A grade pearls usually have more than 90% flawless surface.
• B graded pearls usually come up with high to medium level luster. The surface of a B graded pearl may have some noticeable imperfections, but usually 70% of the surface remains free from defects.
• C grade pearls are medium quality pearls with medium luster and flaws which can be identified on more than 60% of their surface.
• Pearls with minor to deep defects on the surface are labeled as D grade pearls. These pearls may come up with slight defect on more than 60% of the surface or may have deep defects on less than 60% of the surface.

Some marketers also use terms like AAAA or AAA+ for grading pearls. However, this type of grading is not widely accepted and sometimes considered deceiving. This is why customers are recommended to rely only on the basic AAA-A and A-D grading system to determine the quality of pearls when they shop for pearls.

Tags: pearl grading, pearl quality, pearls

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at 9:51 am and is filed under Buying pearls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.