AMERICAN PEARL Blog

American Pearl’s 2nd Navigational Tab

I remember when Amazon was just a book company and they added T A B S for all the new product categories that they started offering to expand.  This was a monumental moment for them as well as the e-commerce industry. In 1998 they had two tabs and they slowly added more tabs and more products. Today, AmericanPearl is taking a page out of the history books and is adding its 2nd navigation tab as well for Diamonds. Please be the first to have a look and enjoy the update of our American Diamond line of engagement rings, diamond jewelry and gemstone jewelry. http://www.americanpearl.com/

Amazon's two navigational tabs

The Truth About Pearls

Mikimoto is one of the finest producers of akoya pearls in the world and is widely recognized as the most prestigous pearl retailer in the industry. While Mikimoto’s reputation for providing its clients with top quality pearls is irrefutable, they also charge a considerable premium for their Mikimoto brand. American Pearl is one of the largest wholesalers of top quality pearls in the United States. Our parent company has been in existence for over 50 years and is an approved supplier for some of the world’s most prestiguous jewelry firms, including Harry Winston and Tiffany & Co. Although we have a showroom in New York City, we do not have the overhead that retailers carry and we are able to generate a substantial profit selling our pearls without the retail markup that is typically three more times the wholesale price. While our prices may be substantially lower than those charged by Mikimoto and other high-end Jewelers, our standard for quality is not.

To help its clients understand its pricing scheme, Mikimoto’s gemologists created the first widely recognized system for grading Akoya pearls using a grading system that uses the following grading nomenclature: A, A+, AA and AAA. In the Mikimoto grading system all its “A” graded pearl strands fall within the top five (5%) percent of the the pearl harvest, with each sub-grade improving in quality and value.

American Pearl is able to acheive the same consistently high grading standards as Mikimoto because the master strands used by our GIA trained gemologists have been indexed to equivalently graded strands from Mikimoto using side by side comparison and lab testing. Our GIA trained gemologists then use these Mikimoto indexed master strands to grade every strand of akoya pearls that we sell. To provide our clients with further assurance of quality, all of our AAA graded strands are available with a report from the Gemological Institute of America–the most prestiguous non-profit gemological institute in the world. In short, American Pearl guarantees that if you compare our strands side by side with equivalently graded strands from Mikimoto, the equivalently graded American Pearl strand will be of equal or greater quality. American Pearl backs this guaranty up with a no questions asked 90 day money back guaranty on Akoya necklaces.

American Pearl understands that it is difficult for our clients to compare the differences in quality between our pearls and those of our competitors, many of whom are selling so-called AAA strands for less (and in many cases more than American Pearl). It is important that our clients understand that there is no universally accepted standard for grading pearls. This deficiency gives pearl vendors license to create their own grading system and, unfortunately, they often create systems that are designed to promote the sale of their products, even if those products are of inferior quality. Please do not fall into this trap. The only way to appreciate the difference betweens between the finest quality pearls and lower quality pearls is to comparison shop . We, therefore, strongly encourage our clients to visit Mikimoto, Tiffany & Co. and other fine jewelry stores before visiting our showroom or purchasing pearls from this site. In addition, our GIA trained gemologists are available to answer any pearl related question you may have at any time between the hours of 10am and 6pm either by calling 1-800-847-3275 (international callers dial 212-764-1845), emailing sales@americanpearl.com or by posting your questions to American Pearl’s educational forum Pearl-Education

This Mikimoto grading system deals more with the surface cleanliness of the pearls and their luster. Why? With over 100 years of pearl culturing and harvesting experience, Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearls exhibit the widest range of luster found in any pearls in the world. In fact, as one climbs up the rungs of the ladder from A to A+, from A+ to AA and from AA to AAA quality, the pearls exhibit more luster. In the A, A+, AA and AAA nomenclature, one is primarily concerned with the incremental increase of the luster of each of the pearls and surface cleanliness. This grading system was specifically designed by Mikimoto to grade pearls from Japan, the Japanese Akoya Oyster, because of the wide range of luster and surface quality produced by this oyster. In effect, this grading system does a good job in differentiating the nuances of luster and cleanliness. For those looking for a collector’s piece, American Pearl offers a premium pearl necklace with an upgraded Figure 8 solid gold clasp and slightly thicker nacre and luster called Collection.

One should know that there are different kinds of pearls, from different oysters whose grading systems are different. With the birth of the South Sea pearl from either Australia, Indonesia and Tahiti, approximately half a century ago, pearl farmers and pearl dealers began using a different grading system to grade the surface cleanliness of White Australian South Sea Pearls and Tahitian pearls. Why? Because of the South Sea and Tahitian Pearl’s larger sizes and consistency in luster, pearl dealers are more interested in the surface cleanliness of the pearls. Most South Sea Pearls have an extremely thick nacre (the skin of the pearl). This is why there is more consistency in the luster of South Sea Pearls. Nacre and luster are often directly correlated. Thicker nacre pearls can deliver more luster. In contrast, the grading system for Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearls is concerned with describing the incremental luster of a pearl (combined with a pearl’s cleanliness). The South Sea Pearl grading system, the A, B, C and D nomenclature, is particularly concerned with describing the level of blemishing on the surface of the pearls.

The use of the A, A+, AA and AAA grading system for South Sea Pearls can also be used to describe the luster of South Sea and Tahitian pearls. When pearl dealers trade South Sea pearls & Tahitian pearls amongst themselves outside of the auction system, they primarily use the A, B, C and D nomenclature which gives a more accurate description of the surface cleanliness of a pearl. An educated consumer who is shopping for truly fine quality pearls should understand that there are particular grading systems suited for each oyster and the pearls it produces. So if you are shopping for South Sea Pearls, Find out what the quality of the surface of the pearls are using the A, B, C and D nomenclature.

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