Pure Pearls Glossary
Drop
Tapered at one end and rounded at the other, like a teardrop. Highly valued when the taper is symmetrical.
A drop pearl narrows towards the drill hole and swells at the base. Symmetry is everything: a well-formed drop is a premium shape, a lopsided one is baroque.
The shape suits anything that dangles. Hung from a hook or a bail, the pearl's own taper points the eye downwards.
Large symmetrical drops in South Sea sizes are among the most expensive individual pearls in the market.
When you are buying
For jhumkas, hangings and pendant drops, look for a matched pair or a single well-formed drop rather than the largest available pearl. Symmetry reads as quality far more than size does.
Drop pearl jewellery
9 pieces in the collection right now, from ₹7,700.
Stylish pearl necklace set in green kemp stones
12mm long drop shaped south sea pearl for pendant
11.4 Carats - 18.24 Ratti Drop Shaped Golden Colour South Sea Pearl For Pendant
Shimmering Double Line Pear Shaped Pearls Haar With Zircon Roundels
17 Ratti - 10.6 Carat Blemish free genuine south sea pearl for finger ring
Elegant Double Line Pear Shaped Pearls Haar With Zircon Roundels
13.25 Carat - 21.2 Ratti Drop Shaped Golden Colour South Sea Pearl For Pendant
Mesmerizing Double Line Pear Shaped Pearls Haar With Kundan Pendant
Read next
Pear
A drop with a more pronounced shoulder — wider at the base, distinctly narrow at the top.
Oval
Symmetrically elongated, like an egg. Reads as elegant rather than compromised, and flatters a longer neckline.
Hangings
Earrings that hang below the lobe, as opposed to studs that sit on it. The everyday Indian term for drop earrings.
Baroque
Any pearl with no axis of symmetry. Once treated as a reject, now the shape most associated with contemporary pearl design.
Not sure what you are being sold?
Paste any pearl description — another shop’s listing, a message from a jeweller, an old certificate — and we will break it down term by term.