Pearl Guide

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Dadjin: A 19th-century pearler's basket used to hold mollusk shells and a knife.

Dana: Historical Persian quality factor describing a perfect round natural pearl larger than 7 mm.

Diffraction: One of the ways nacre layers interfere with light, causing light to split into its component colors (the spectrum), one or more of which can be displayed as overtone and/or orient.

Dobo pearl: An...

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Faceted cultured pearl: Pearl carved to create rhombic or triangular surface shapes that produce a sparkling optical effect when the wearer moves.

Fancy colors: Most often associated with cultured freshwater pearls, consist of unusual colors like intense pink, orange or plum.

Fancy shapes: Most often associated with cultured freshwater pearls, consist of unusual shapes like bars, crosses...

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Gajamukta: So-called pearl said to come from the heads or tusk sockets of elephants; also called elephant pearl.

Gajamuthu: Same as gajamukta and elephant pearl.

Ganglia or ganglions, plural, ganglion, singular: Groups of nerve cells that constitute the primitive nervous system of a bivalve mollusk.

Gastropod: Univalve mollusk, including land and sea snails, with a head and eyes and a...

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

H-grade pearl: Letter grade assigned to a high-grade pearl by Japan's Pearl Inspection Office from 1952 to 1999.

Half-drilled pearl: Pearl drilled to 2/3 or 3/4 of its diameter for setting in pearl jewelry.

Half-light pearl: One of four Saxony quality factors used to describe natural German river pearls. See also: light pearl (highest quality), and sand and rotten pearl (lowest...

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

I-pearls: Imitation pearls from Izumi, Japan.

Icon pearl: Cultured blister pearl produced in the shape of an iconic object (usually a commercial image or even a trademark logo) by using a nucleus of that shape.

IGI grading system: Cultured pearl grading system developed by the International Gemological Institute in New York in 1993. The system uses twenty-two reference strands to grade...

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Karasu-gai: Japanese term for the Cristaria plicata (cockscomb) freshwater pearl mussel.

Kago: Japanese term for pearl mollusk baskets suspended from longline systems.

Kan: Historical Japanese weight unit used to valuate pearls. One kan equals 1,000 momme (see), 3.75 kilograms and 8.26 pounds.

Kangaroo basket: Culture basket in which pearl oysters are stored for a brief period after the...