Types & Origins of Pearls

Every pearl begins the same way — a grain of irritation, an oyster's patience, layer upon layer of nacre. What differs is the oyster, the water, and the years. Those differences are everything: they decide the colour, the size, the lustre, and the price. Here is the whole family, honestly described.

Last updated: 2026

Two families: natural and cultured

Natural pearls form when something enters the oyster entirely by chance. They are vanishingly rare — a harvest of ten thousand oysters might yield a handful — and antique natural pearls are the domain of auction houses and inheritance drawers.

Cultured pearls are formed the same way, in the same oysters, with one difference: the beginning is placed by human hands. The oyster still does all the work, over years, in open water. Virtually every fine pearl sold today is cultured, and a fine cultured pearl is not a lesser thing — it is the same miracle, made findable.

Freshwater pearls

• Origin: chiefly the lakes and rivers of China; also Japan and other regions.
• Oyster: freshwater mussels, often producing many pearls at once.
• Look: the widest palette of shapes — round, oval, drop, button, and the beloved baroque. Colours run white, cream, pink and lavender.
• Character: soft, satin-like lustre; wonderful for everyday pieces and for baroque designs where individuality is the point.
• Worth knowing: modern top-grade freshwater pearls can sit close to Akoya in beauty, at a gentler price — the quiet overachiever of the pearl world.

Akoya pearls

• Origin: Japan, with smaller production in China.
• Oyster: the small Akoya oyster, one pearl at a time, in cooler seas.
• Look: the classic white pearl — round, 2–10 mm, with a sharp, mirror-like lustre and rose or silver overtones.
• Character: the pearl of the little black dress; the strand your grandmother wore. Cool water slows the oyster, and the nacre is dense and brilliant.
• Worth knowing: Akoya rarely grows beyond 9–10 mm. If you want large and white, that is South Sea territory.

South Sea pearls

• Origin: Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia — warm, clean seas.
• Oyster: the large silver-lip or gold-lip oyster, one pearl at a time.
• Look: the largest of all cultured pearls, typically 9–16 mm and up to 20 mm, in white, silver, and the celebrated golden tones.
• Character: satiny rather than sharp — a warm, deep glow. The pearl of occasion pieces and heirloom strands.
• Worth knowing: thick nacre and long culture time make them the most valuable per millimetre. A matched golden South Sea strand can take years to assemble.

Tahitian pearls

• Origin: French Polynesia, and only there by law — a "Tahitian" pearl must come from these waters.
• Oyster: the large black-lipped oyster.
• Look: the famous dark pearls — but "black" undersells them. Body tones run grey, green, blue and aubergine, with overtones of peacock, silver and magenta.
• Character: no two alike; the most individual pearl in the family. Peacock-green overtones are the most prized.
• Worth knowing: a true Tahitian is never dyed. If a dark pearl is dyed, it must be sold as such — we say so plainly when it is.

Keshi and other curiosities

Keshi are small, entirely-nacre pearls — accidents of the culturing process, all lustre and no nucleus. They are loved for their fire and their irregular grace. Mabé pearls are half-pearls grown against the shell, cut free and backed — honest and lovely when sold as what they are.

At a glance

How we choose

We buy by the pearl, not by the type. A fine freshwater pearl will outshine a tired Akoya every time. What must be true of every pearl here — whatever its origin — is set out in Our Pearl Criteria. The type tells you the family; the criteria tell you the quality.