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There are four different types of pearls and each is unique in colour, size and shape:
 Akoya Pearls are the most popular pearl type. They are cultured pearls in saltwater mollusks from Japan and China. Akoya pearls are popular for their luster and beauty. Akoya pearls are usually white, cream, rose, gold and blue gray. White usually has cream or rose undertones, silver with white undertones, green-white with rose undertones and green with white undertones. Akoya pearls are most popular in white or cream colors.
- Freshwater pearl jewelry is made with cultured freshwater pearls mostly from China made in a freshwater mollusk in a lake, pond or river. They are similar in look to the Akoya pearls, but are less expensive because they are generally smaller and less symmetrical. Freshwater pearls are usually white, pink, peach, lavender, plum, purple and tangerine. The most popular shade of Freshwater pearls are white with rose undertones.
- South Sea Pearls are larger pearls that come in a range of light colors. Southsea pearls are harder to cultivate and therefore more expensive. Southsea Pearls come in colors ranging from white, gold, silver, cream and champagne. The white color has silver or rose undertones.
- Black Tahitian Pearls are darker and larger. They are very unique and expensive because of the complicated cultivation process. Tahitian pearls are black, gray, silver, green, orange, gold, blue and purple. The black body colors has green or pink undertones.
Here is a list of important terms to know when shopping for pearls:
- Blemish: Defect found on the pearl surface. Blemishes can affect a pearl's price. There are non-damaging blemishes, such as spots, bumps, pits and wrinkles, and damaging blemishes, which may worsen, include cracks, holes and chips.
- Button: Dome-shaped pearls with a flat bottom.
- Choker: Pearls and Necklaces that are 14 to 16 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 of a pearl.
- Collar: A pearl necklace that is 10 to 13 inches in length.
- Grafting: The insertion, through human intervention, of an irritant into the body or the mantle tissue of a mollusk, in order to produce a cultured pearl.
- Luster: The combination of surface shine and the depth of inner light refraction in a pearl. Luster is one of the great determinants of a pearl's quality.
- Mantle Tissue: The layer of thin tissue adhering a mollusk to its inner shell.
- Matching: Using luster, surface, shape, color and size to match one pearl with another to create a piece of pearl jewelry, such as a necklace.
- Matinee: Pearl necklace that is 20 to 24 inches in length.
- Millimeter: The metric measurement used to determine the size of a pearl. One mm equals 1/25 of an inch.
- Momme: The weight measurement for pearls in Japan. One momme equals 3.75 grams, or 18.7 carats.
- Nacre: A calcium carbonate-based crystalline substance secreted by a mollusk as a defensive device against the intrusion of a foreign irritant into its body.
- Nucleus: A small bit of polished shell from an American freshwater mollusk used as an irritant and inserted into the body of a saltwater mollusk. By the same token, a small bit of soft mantle tissue from one freshwater mussel is inserted as an irritant into the body of another freshwater mollusk.
- Nucleation: Also called grafting or implementation, this is the process of inserting an irritating nucleus into the body of a mollusk so that it will secrete nacre to cover it, consequently producing a cultured pearl.
- Opera: A pearl necklace that is 28 to 34 inches in length.
- Princess: Pearl necklace that is 17 to 20 inches in length.
- Rope: A pearl necklace over 45 inches in length.
- Shape: A quality evaluation, describing the shape of a pearl. Round is the most prized shape in the industry, but saltwater and freshwater pearls are produced in a variety of shapes, just as they exhibit a variety of colors.
- Size: The diameter of pearls measured in millimeters and used as a quality and price evaluation of pearls.
- Sorting: Separating pearls by surface, shape, color and size prior to the jewelry matching process.
- Surface: A quality evaluation of the amount of blemishes on a pearl, ranging from clean to heavily blemished.
Color is a personal preference, but in general people who have fair coloring look best in light colors with pink undertones and people with darker complexions will look better in white, black, or golden colors.
Luster is the mirror-like finish on the pearl surface. They are made when mollusks sense irritants and start building up calcium carbonate layers called nacre to coat them. The resulting blisters eventually become pearls. The larger pearl contain more nacre, or layers, and the pearl becomes more lustrous. Southsea and Tahitian pearl are more lustrous than Freshwater pearl partly because of the size of the pearl. GIA uses the terms, Excellent, Good, and Fair to grade the pearl luster. Luster is the most important factor in picking out the value of a pearl. When picking out a pearl necklace, pick out the pearl necklace that's graded Excellent to Good.
The most popular pearl shape is perfectly round. Perfectly round pearls are hard to find which makes them expensive. However, there are other pearl shapes that are popular too, such as tear drop, button (also known as the mabe shape) and symmetrical pearls. More irregular shapes fall under the baroque shape category. For a pearl necklace, women prefer round shaped pearls, but in pearl earrings and pearl pendants, a button or teardrop may be a better style. Browse around to see your favorite pearl shape.
When picking out a pearl necklace, the pearl surface is the most important thing to look at. Like diamonds, there are rarely perfect pearls, but the premium pearls are those that have very little imperfections, such as spots or bumps.
Non-damaging pearl blemishes include spots, bumps, pits, and wrinkles which doesn't harm the pearl jewelry and won't make the pearls weaker and more fragile, but they can affect the price and value of the pearl necklace. Damaging blemishes include cracks, holes or chips. Those blemishes may worsen and affect the durability of a pearl. When buying pearls, it's important to find ones that are lustrous enough to last you a long time, because the nacre will wear off over time from friction due to rubbing against clothing and skin.
As with most jewelry, keep pearl jewelry away from household cleaners and beauty products, such as hairspray, perfume and lotion. Chemical products will damage the layer of nacre, resulting in dulling of the surface. Pearl jewelry with strong nacre and luster last longer because they are thicker. The best way to keep your pearl necklace beautiful is by wearing it. Your body's natural oils can keep pearl jewelry lustrous. Wipe your pearls with a soft cloth and keep them away from the other necklaces in storage to avoid scratches.
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