With the Ultimate Pearls pearl guide, you'll learn how to recognize and find quality pearls. You’ll also learn how choose the perfect pearl for you, or your loved ones.

The majority of pearls found in pearl marketplaces today are cultured pearls, due to the of scarcity of natural pearls. Natural pearls take years to form, and demand for pearls has increased beyond the supply of natural pearls. Cultured pearls are formed by placing a tiny bead in an oyster. That bead is gradually coated in layers of a nacre. Nacre is a beautiful, pearlescent substance. This nacre build up creates a lustrous pearl.

There are many types of pearls – including South Sea pearls, Akoya pearls, freshwater pearls, and Tahitian cultured pearls.

Body Color: This is the overall color of a pearl. In general, pearls are found in white, cream, yellow, pink, silver, or black.

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Overtone: This is the slight secondary color of a pearl. The overtone is seen when light reflects off the pearl surface. It is not uncommon for pearls to have two colors – such as silver and black or white and pink (the former being the pearl’s body color, and the latter being the pearl’s overtone).

pearls