Pure Pearls Glossary
Full-Drilled
A pearl drilled all the way through so thread can pass. How every strand pearl is prepared.
The hole runs through the pearl's shortest axis. Its size determines what thread can be used and how the pearl sits.
Drill holes are also a useful inspection point. Look for chipped nacre around the rim, and for dye pooled darker inside the hole.
Off-centre drilling makes a pearl hang crooked. On a strand this shows up as pearls that will not sit in line.
When you are buying
Look into the drill hole with a loupe or a phone camera. It is where thin nacre, dye and coating are hardest to hide.
Read next
Half-Drilled
A pearl drilled only partway through, so it can be cemented onto a post. How pearls are mounted in studs and rings.
Knotting
A knot tied between each pearl on the thread. It stops pearls rubbing and limits a break to a single lost pearl.
Nacre
The material a pearl is made of: microscopic aragonite platelets glued in layers by conchiolin. Thickness determines both lustre and lifespan.
Dyed Pearl
A real pearl whose colour has been added after harvest. Standard practice, and entirely fine when it is disclosed.
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.