Pure Pearls Glossary
Know exactly what you are buying
19 terms on types of pearl, each linked to the pieces we actually have.
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Freshwater, saltwater, South Sea, keshi, and how to tell a real pearl from a coated bead.
Round, baroque, drop, coin and the rest, and what each one is worth paying for.
What AAA actually means, plus lustre, nacre, orient and the claims to be sceptical of.
Millimetres, choker to rope, bangle sizing, and which length suits which neckline.
Jhumka, mangalsutra, kundan, polki, temple work and the rest of the Indian vocabulary.
925 silver, plating thickness, American diamond, coral, hallmarks and karat versus carat.
Clasps, knotting, drilling and settings — the parts that decide whether a piece survives.
Storing pearls, the tooth test, restringing, and the astrological terms buyers ask about.
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Types of Pearl
Showing 1 to 19 of 19
Akoya Pearl
The classic small round white saltwater pearl from Japan and China, usually 5mm to 9mm. The pearl in a traditional single-strand necklace.
14 in stock · from ₹8,680
Bead Nucleated
Grown around a round shell bead, so the pearl is a nacre shell over a core. The saltwater method, and how roundness is achieved.
Biwa Pearl
A long, flat, stick-shaped freshwater pearl, originally from Lake Biwa in Japan. Now a shape name more than an origin.
25 in stock · from ₹3,500
Cultured Pearl
A real pearl grown in a farmed mollusc after a technician places an irritant inside it. Essentially every pearl on the market is cultured.
Dyed Pearl
A real pearl whose colour has been added after harvest. Standard practice, and entirely fine when it is disclosed.
97 in stock · from ₹400
Exotic Pearl Colours
Pearls outside the white and cream range — pink, peach, lavender, grey, golden, blue, green and multi-shaded strands.
70 in stock · from ₹3,300
Freshwater Pearl
A pearl grown inside a mussel in a river or lake, rather than an oyster in the sea. Most pearl jewellery sold today is freshwater.
910 in stock · from ₹400
Imitation Pearl
A glass or plastic bead with a pearlescent coating. No nacre, no mollusc, no pearl.
Keshi Pearl
A pearl that forms by accident with no nucleus at all, so it is solid nacre. Irregular in shape and unusually bright.
1 in stock · from ₹18,200
Mabe Pearl
A half-dome pearl grown against the inside of the shell rather than free in the tissue. Flat-backed, so it suits rings and pendants.
Mother of Pearl
The iridescent nacre lining of a mollusc shell — the same material as a pearl, but formed as a sheet rather than a bead.
14 in stock · from ₹2,500
Natural Pearl
A pearl that formed with no human involvement at all. Vanishingly rare, and effectively absent from the retail market.
Rice Pearl
A small elongated freshwater pearl shaped like a grain of rice, usually with visible surface rippling.
10 in stock · from ₹2,500
Saltwater Pearl
A pearl grown in an oyster in the sea. Rounder and rarer than freshwater, and considerably more expensive.
42 in stock · from ₹4,760
Seed Pearl
A very small pearl, under about 2mm, used in clusters, embroidery and temple work.
9 in stock · from ₹5,040
Shell Pearl
A bead ground from shell and coated to look like a pearl. Not grown by a mollusc, so not a pearl.
South Sea Pearl
The largest commercially grown pearl, from the gold-lipped or silver-lipped oyster. Typically 9mm to 16mm, white to deep gold.
39 in stock · from ₹7,700
Tahitian Pearl
A naturally dark saltwater pearl from the black-lipped oyster of French Polynesia. Grey to near-black, with green, aubergine or peacock overtones.
38 in stock · from ₹400
Tissue Nucleated
Grown around a scrap of mantle tissue instead of a bead, so the pearl is solid nacre throughout. The freshwater method.
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