Luster: South Sea Pearls vs. Akoya

[mrsadm]

My local jeweler has a pair of (white) SS stud earrings that I am interested in. They are each around 10.5 mm. My concern here is that they don't seem to have much luster.

I have several white akoya pearls that have better luster than the SS ones, and a pair of metallic freshwater pearls that also look quite lustrous to me.

What/how much luster should one expect from white SS pearls? Can anyone post a picture to help me see what good quality SS pearls should look like?

Thank you all for any help! As you can imagine they are not cheap.
Linda

 

[Pearl Dreams]

As a general rule, luster is lower in SSP than in akoyas, but it can be very high. I happen to like satin luster when it comes to SSP, but if you want SSP with high luster, you can find them.

 

[Pareltje]

SSP can have a luster like that of the best akoyas. But generally SSPs have satiny luster.

 

[Luvglitz]

Australian South Sea pearls

Australian South Sea pearls

I have two strands of South Sea pearls. They are very different and not because of size and shape. Both are from Australia. The larger pearl strand (12-15mm) has a very satiny luster. The smaller baroque strand is from Northern Australia and cultured in wild caught mussels. This strand has amazing luster very much like Akoyas.