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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 qualities). Also see: light pearls (highest quality), sand (low quality), and rotten pearls (lowest quality).
Half-round nucleus: Nucleus used to produce cultured blister pearls. A half-round nucleus has a domed side and a flat side; the latter is attached to the host's shell.
Haliotis: Large genus of gastropods commonly known as abalone.
Hamadera auction: First cultured akoya pearl auction, January 8, 1920, Osaka, Japan. Two kilograms of Mikimoto's pearls were sold at the auction.
Hama-age: Newly harvested cultured akoya pearls in Japan.
Hama-age auctions: Annual auctions of newly harvested cultured akoya pearls in Japan.
Hammer pearl: Brownish-black natural pearl produced by the hammer shell, Malleus malleus.
Hanadama: Highest quality portion of a cultured akoya pearl harvest.
Hanadama certification: Cultured akoya pearl certificate issued by the Pearl Science Laboratory of Japan indicating cultured akoya pearls that have the highest ratings in all quality attributes.
Hank: Term for a grouping of temporary pearl strands typically tied in bundles of five or ten.
Hankei: Japanese name for a cultured blister pearl. See Mabe pearl.
Hardness: Pearls range from 3.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
Harvest: Removing cultured pearls from mollusks on a pearl farm.
Heat treatment: Applying heat to a natural or cultured pearl to improve its luster.
Heath pearls: Natural pearls from the Heath region of Scandinavia; popular in the latter half of the 19th century.
Hepu pearls: Natural pearls collected from Hepu and Behai in Guangxi Province, China, as early as the Han dynasty (206-220 AD).
Hinge pearl: Natural pearl found near the hinge of a bivalve mollusk, typically of elongated, irregular shape.
Hollow pearl: Natural or cultured pearl with a large, hollow cavity.
Hope Pearl: Natural marine blister pearl weighing 1,816 grains (454 carats), probably from Pinctada margaritifera or Pinctada mazatlanica. Once owned by 19th Century Gem collector Henry Phillip Hope.
Hue: First impression of a pearl's color.
Hybrid mussel: Pearl mussel created by crossbreeding two species.
Hypostracum: Mother-of-pearl layer of a pearl-bearing bivalve mollusk shell, the shell layer adjacent to the mantle.
Hyriopsis genus: Unionidae family mussels native to Southeast and East Asia. Pearl-producing species of the genus occur in China and Japan.
Hyriopsis cumingi: Triangle shell mussel native to China, used extensively in cultured freshwater pearl production.
Hyriopsis schlegeli: Biwa pearly mussel native to Japan, used to produce tissue-cultured freshwater pearls in Lake Biwa. Also used in China since the mid-1990s as a pure species and as a hybrid with Hyriopsis cumingi.
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 qualities). Also see: light pearls (highest quality), sand (low quality), and rotten pearls (lowest quality).
Half-round nucleus: Nucleus used to produce cultured blister pearls. A half-round nucleus has a domed side and a flat side; the latter is attached to the host's shell.
Haliotis: Large genus of gastropods commonly known as abalone.
Hamadera auction: First cultured akoya pearl auction, January 8, 1920, Osaka, Japan. Two kilograms of Mikimoto's pearls were sold at the auction.
Hama-age: Newly harvested cultured akoya pearls in Japan.
Hama-age auctions: Annual auctions of newly harvested cultured akoya pearls in Japan.
Hammer pearl: Brownish-black natural pearl produced by the hammer shell, Malleus malleus.
Hanadama: Highest quality portion of a cultured akoya pearl harvest.
Hanadama certification: Cultured akoya pearl certificate issued by the Pearl Science Laboratory of Japan indicating cultured akoya pearls that have the highest ratings in all quality attributes.
Hank: Term for a grouping of temporary pearl strands typically tied in bundles of five or ten.
Hankei: Japanese name for a cultured blister pearl. See Mabe pearl.
Hardness: Pearls range from 3.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
Harvest: Removing cultured pearls from mollusks on a pearl farm.
Heat treatment: Applying heat to a natural or cultured pearl to improve its luster.
Heath pearls: Natural pearls from the Heath region of Scandinavia; popular in the latter half of the 19th century.
Hepu pearls: Natural pearls collected from Hepu and Behai in Guangxi Province, China, as early as the Han dynasty (206-220 AD).
Hinge pearl: Natural pearl found near the hinge of a bivalve mollusk, typically of elongated, irregular shape.
Hollow pearl: Natural or cultured pearl with a large, hollow cavity.
Hope Pearl: Natural marine blister pearl weighing 1,816 grains (454 carats), probably from Pinctada margaritifera or Pinctada mazatlanica. Once owned by 19th Century Gem collector Henry Phillip Hope.
Hue: First impression of a pearl's color.
Hybrid mussel: Pearl mussel created by crossbreeding two species.
Hypostracum: Mother-of-pearl layer of a pearl-bearing bivalve mollusk shell, the shell layer adjacent to the mantle.
Hyriopsis genus: Unionidae family mussels native to Southeast and East Asia. Pearl-producing species of the genus occur in China and Japan.
Hyriopsis cumingi: Triangle shell mussel native to China, used extensively in cultured freshwater pearl production.
Hyriopsis schlegeli: Biwa pearly mussel native to Japan, used to produce tissue-cultured freshwater pearls in Lake Biwa. Also used in China since the mid-1990s as a pure species and as a hybrid with Hyriopsis cumingi.
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