The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes of pearls (baroque pearls) occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries, and because of this, the word pearl has become a metaphor for something very rare, fine, admirable, and valuable.
The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but they are extremely rare. A “natural pearl” or “wild pearl” is one that forms without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare. Cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters make up the majority of those that are currently sold. A cultured pearl is formed in a pearl farm, using human intervention as well as natural processes. Pearls from the sea are valued more highly than freshwater pearls.
Quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. The actual value of a natural pearl is determined in the same way as it would be for other “precious” gems. The valuation factors include size, shape, quality of surface, orient and luster.
The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and highly valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants.
Pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled. Perfectly round pearls are the rarest and most valuable shape. In general, cultured pearls are less valuable than natural pearls, whereas imitation pearls almost have no value.
Earrings and necklaces can also be classified on the grade of the color of the pearl. While white, and more recently black, saltwater pearls are by far the most popular, other color tints can be found on pearls from the oceans. Pink, blue, champagne, green, black and even purple saltwater pearls can be encountered, but to collect enough of these rare colors to form a complete string of the same size and same shade can take years.
The Pearl Price :
Sea Pearl Color Yellow / Gram 26USD(retail price) and 22USD (agent price)
Sea Pearl Grey Color / Gram 18USD(retail price) and 15USD (agent price)
Sea Pearl Black Color / Gram 34USD(retail price) and 29USD (agent price)
Sea Pearl Gold Color / Gram 40USD(retail price) and 35USD (agent price)
Sea Pearl Yellow Color(Oval) / Gram 15USD(retail price) and 13USD (agent price)
Sea Pearl Yellow Greyish Color / Gram 15USD(retail price) and 13USD (agent price)
Freshwater Pearl /pcs depends on size and color start on 9USD(retail price) and 8USD (agent price)
References :
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl#Pearls_in_jewelry