Akoya pearls
In the cold Japanese waters, the fine Akoya cultured pearl grows in the oyster with its biological name Pinctata martensii, or, as it is also called in Japan, in the "Akoya oyster". It is one of the absolute classics, the most sought-after pearls in the world, and is known for its distinctive lustre, its rich, smooth surface and its brilliant radiance.
With a maximum diameter of ten millimetres, this type is small compared to other pearls. However, its almost perfectly round shape and delicate pink shimmering glow remain outstanding. Akoya cultured pearls are mostly white, but can also appear in shades of silver, cream and rose.
Tahiti Pearls
Tahiti cultured pearls are famous for their metallic range of colours: from silver-grey to charcoal-green, aubergine, and peacock-blue to even black, they shimmer in the most seductive hues, changing within a single pearl depending on the light.
They grow to perfection in the warm waters of French Polynesia's lagoons in the black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera. With a diameter of up to 18 millimetres, Tahiti cultured pearls are among the largest pearls in the world and are sought after and precious for their mystical and deep shimmer – especially when their shape is perfectly round.
South Sea Pearls
Referred to as the "Queen of the Seas" or the "Queen of Pearls", the white South Sea cultured pearl is considered to be the most precious among the pearls. Its breeding is complex and only succeeds in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
There, in the undisturbed nature of dreamlike places, the South Sea pearl matures in the largest of all pearl oysters, the Pinctada maxima. As luminous and beautiful as soft moonlight, this pearl has a high mother of pearl thickness and comes in soft shades ranging from silver-white and pale pink to delicate hues of cream, champagne and gold, as well as hints of green and blue. Its remarkable size of up to 20 millimetres in diameter and its enormous variety of shapes make the South Sea pearl a magnificent and unique jewel.
Freshwater pearls
Unlike the Akoya, the South Sea or the Tahiti pearl, the freshwater pearl is mainly farmed in Chinese lakes or rivers. It usually grows without an implanted nucleus in the oyster hyriopsis schlegeli. The only thing that needs to be inserted is a small piece of mother-of-pearl producing tissue from a donor oyster, which can be of different shapes.
As a result, freshwater pearls come in many shapes and sizes ranging from 2 to 15 millimetres in diameter. Freshwater pearls are also popular because of their wide range of colours, from white, pink, champagne, silver and bronze to apricot, orange and violet.
