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Shape is the second most important, quality in determining how much does a pearl necklace cost.
Pearl Shapes are generally thought of as round or spherical; however, truly round pearls are a small percentage of all the pearls that are cultivated. Pearl shapes can be round pearls to near-round pearls, to a pill shape, coin shape, drops, or completely freeform.
The Gemological Society classifies pearls into three major categories. These are Spherical Pearls, Symmetrical Pearls, and Baroque Pearls. So obviously Spherical are either round or near round, Symmetrical pearls have shapes that are the same on each side, each side is a mirror image of the other. Baroque is the term used to describe irregularly shaped pearls.
Sometimes the pearl, when growing inside the oyster, develops rings, either grooves, or ridges around the circumference of the pearl and then the shape of the pearl is modified by the adjective of “circled”, as in Circled pearls, or circled drop pearls, or circled drops.
Although pearls come in all kinds of shapes, the round or near round symmetrical pearls have the highest value. The round or spherical pearls are a much more rare than all of the other shapes and therefore more valuable.
As in all the other pearl values, the value of roundness by itself does not guarantee a high price. When we consider pearl value, we must consider all seven value factors affect price.
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