In honor of President's Day tomorrow, we thought we'd feature the Dove of Peace brooch. This gorgeous natural Freshwater pearl dove brooch was worn by America's first First Lady, Martha Washington. Originally purchased in 1878, the dove features tiny seed pearls woven onto a mother-of-pearl backing.
The topic of Pearl Luster can be a tricky one to describe to someone learning how to buy pearls. But it is an important topic to cover, and definitely something all pearl lovers should be familiar with.
This article aims to quickly and easily explain this topic, and show you visual examples of each pearl type’s typical luster levels so you know exactly what we’re talking about.
Luster is arguably THE MOST important aspect of a pearl’s value, beating out surface quality, symmetry of shape, size and color by a mile. If a pearl doesn't have nice luster, it just isn't going to be worth much. Luster is one of the famous “Value Factors” that jewelers, pearl specialists and appraisers use to grade pearls.
Pearl luster has three components:
All four of the major pearl types require a rating of “High to Very High” luster in order to be graded “AAA Quality”. However, each pearl type plays with light in its own unique way and should be evaluated on a scale that takes that into account.
