Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian or Freshwater: Which Pearl Suits You?
Akoya pearls are small, round and light (usually 6 to 8 mm), South Sea pearls are the largest and most expensive (8 to 18 mm), Tahitian pearls are the main variety with a naturally dark colour (8 to 14 mm), and freshwater pearls offer the widest choice at the lowest price. A necklace starts at around EUR 100 for freshwater and reaches five figures for South Sea pearls.
In this issue
Which pearl suits you, what it costs, how to tell it is real and how a strand lasts a century: guides with sourced figures, tables and tools.
Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian or Freshwater: Which Pearl Suits You?
Akoya stays under 9 mm, South Sea grows to 18 mm, Tahitian shimmers dark, freshwater costs least. The comparison by size, culturing and price.
How to Tell Real Pearls from Fakes: 6 Tests That Work at Home
Real pearls feel gritty on a tooth, show layered nacre at the drill hole and glow blue under UV. Which home tests work and where only a lab can help.
How Much Does a Pearl Necklace Cost? 2026 Prices by Pearl Type
A real pearl necklace costs from 100 euros (freshwater) to over 50,000 euros (South Sea) in 2026. Price table by pearl type and size, plus import duty.
The Most Expensive Pearls in the World and Their Auction Records
The world's most expensive pearl: CHF 36.4 million for Marie Antoinette's pendant in 2018. La Peregrina at USD 11.8 million and the record necklaces.
Keshi, Mabe, Conch and Melo: What Are These Pearls?
Keshi and Mabe are by-products of pearl farming, Conch and Melo natural snail pearls without nacre. Origin, structure, size and prices compared.
The sections
Pearl Knowledge
Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian, freshwater, keshi or conch: every pearl has its own origin, size and price range.
4 articlesBuying and Value
What a pearl necklace costs, how grades like AAA or Hanadama are awarded and what an inherited strand is worth.
3 articlesCare
Nacre is soft, organic and sensitive to acids, which is why pearls age differently from diamonds.
4 articlesOrigin and History
From the pearl divers of the Persian Gulf to Mikimoto's first cultured pearl and the records set at Sotheby's and Christie's.
3 articlesStyle
Which necklace length suits which neckline, why men wear pearls and for which occasion a pearl is the right gift.
From the glossary
Terms from lustre to nucleus, each with the number that matters.