Closeup: Four strands shape Akoya group: Top to bottom: round, near round, semi baroque, and baroque.
The freshwater pearls will offer you the widest range of natural color and shape. Therefore, the single important thing that you need to understand when you try to learn about Pearl Grading for making an educated buying decision is that – you will find it almost impossible to compare different grades and also the system of grading from one company with another one.
As compared to grading used for diamond, there is no such standardized grading system or website available to explain grading procedure for freshwater pearls.
Therefore, each company of the world who grades their item and sells any freshwater pearls will be using a system which they themselves has devised and created. Each and every system will be subjective and each of them is very special and unique.
Following is one of the standard grading systems that most of the companies usually adhere to with certain customization based on their product for freshwater pearl.
Pearl grade
- Freshadama
Such freshadama-grade pearls will be loose-grade pearls, which have been chosen individually before polishing and drilling for their extraordinary quality characteristics.
Typically, such kind of pearls is sold on wholesale basis as single pearls or as pairs, undrilled. Here, Freshadama strands will be composed of such pearls – matched and drilled by users.
- Freshwater pearls of highest grade
- Exhibit strong luster and also deeply reflective orient
- Clean surface
- Round
- Excellent matching
- Top .01% of the freshwater pearls which is produced today
- AAA
- Highest non-loose grade of pearl available in market
- Round to eye
- Exhibit excellent luster
- Clean surface
- Excellent matching
- Top 1% of the freshwater pearls that is produced today
- AA+
- Freshwater pearl of highest grade
- Luster is from good to strong
- Near round, from one yard away appear perfectly round
- 95 to 100% Clean Surface
- Excellent to good match
- Top 5% of the freshwater pearls which is produced today
- AA
- Exhibit luster of good to average
- Near round to little off-round
- 80 to 100% Clean Surface
- Good to moderate match
- Top 10% of the freshwater pearls that produced today
- Pearl will exhibit good – medium reflection
- A
- Exhibit luster average to low
- Near round to little off-round
- 70 to 80% Clean Surface
- Top nearly 20% of the freshwater pearls that produced
- Good to moderate match
- Commercial
- Exhibit luster average to nil
- Moderate to heavy blemish.
- Near round to little off-round.
