Iceland Pearl Ruby Women Wedding Fashion Jewelry 48

Iceland Pearl Ruby Women Wedding Fashion Jewelry. 

By Aamir Mannan.

Lustre refers both to a pearl's brilliance -- the way its surface reflects light -- and its inner glow: the way it refracts light. The nacre coating of South Sea pearls is especially thick, giving them a soft yet deep, rich lustre unlike that of any other type of pearl. Their lustre may be referred to as "satiny," less "mirror-like" than that of Akoya pearls. South Sea pearls also possess a beautiful soft iridescence found only in pearls with exceptionally thick nacre.

Surface of South Sea pearls

Surface quality refers to the amount and kinds of flaws that appear on the outside of a pearl, ranging from "clean" -- virtually free of spots, bumps, pits, cracks, circles and wrinkles -- to "heavily blemished" -- pearls dominated by such flaws. Non-damaging blemishes such as spots, bumps, pits, circles and wrinkles will occur on South Sea pearls. But remember, as products of nature, pearls are almost never flawless, and flaws don't always detract from the value or beauty of a pearl. This is especially so with South Sea cultured pearls, whose exceptionally long cultivation period makes flawless or slightly flawed South Sea pearls extremely rare.