Blemish: A defect found on the surface of the pearl. Non-damaging blemishes include spots, bumps, pits and wrinkles, and can affect a pearl’s price. Damaging blemishes — which may worsen, and can affect the durability of a pearl as well as its price — include cracks, holes and chips.
Button: A dome-shaped pearl with a flat bottom.
Choker: A pearl necklace that is 16 to 18 inches in length.
Circles: Concave, concentric rings on a pearl’s surface.
Clean: Absence of blemishes on a pearl’s surface.
Color: An evaluation of quality used to describe the color …

Black-Lip Oyster: An oyster of unusual size and diameter found in the South Pacific, from which is derived the famous black pearls known in the industry as Tahitian Pearls. Other colors produced by this mollusk, besides black, are silver to light gray, dark gray, orange, gold, green, blue, and purple.
Gold-Lip Oyster: The large oyster found in the waters off Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan, which produces gold-colored South Sea Pearls.
Pinctada Fucata: The industry term for the saltwater mollusk that produces Akoya cultured pearls.
Pinctada Maxima: The industry term for the White-lip …

Abalone Pearl: A naturally cultivated pearl from an abalone, which is a univalve mollusk.
Akoya Cultured Pearls: Pearls produced by deliberate human intervention in several varieties of saltwater mollusks generally found in the waters around Japan and China. The Akoya pearl ranges in color from cream, white, rose, gold and blue-gray, and remains justly famous in the hierarchy of cultured pearls for its spectacular luster and beauty.
Baroque: A cultured pearl that is asymmetrical and free form in shape.
Biwa Pearl: A cultured pearl cultivated in a freshwater mussel in Lake Biwa, in …