Pearl shapes

Pearls are natural wonders that are available in wide variety of shapes and sizes. The shape of pearls plays an important part in determining its value. You will hardly come upon perfect round shaped natural pearls in the market. You will find that pearls that are randomly shaped are cheaper than the round pearls.

Number of processes occurs when pearl is developing inside the oyster that will eventually determine the final shape of that pearl. If the irritant that exists inside the oyster in order to facilitate the pearl’s shape is round or spherical, then the pearl created will be spherical as well. On the other hand if the shape of the irritant is irregular then pearl is bound to be irregular in shape as well. Along with the shape of the irritant, the position of a pearl inside the oyster also determines the shape of pearl.

Following are few pearl shapes:
Spherical: These may be perfectly round or approximately round and are regarded to be classic among other pearls.
Symmetrical shapes are fairly balanced and regular. When you cut them apart in exactly middle then each part will be the mirror image of another half.
Baroque: These pearls are irregular or abstract and nonsymmetrical in nature.
Round pearls: Round pearls are hardly ever perfect spheres unless they are gems of quality. The shape of pearls depends upon the time duration for which the pearl remains within oyster. Round pearls are very unusual and are expensive. As they grow the shape also changes gradually. Mostly the south sea pearls are round pearls.
Off round pearls: ‘Off Round’ term is referred to the pearl which looks round by necked eyes but actually, they are slightly oval or flattened shape. They have fine luster same as that of the round shaped pearl.

Pearl Shapes are a significant factor in determining value. The most common shapes are irregular or baroque. A pearl's shape and quality are not dependent on each other. However, just like gemstones, certain shapes of pearls are quite rare making them quite valuable. You will find that perfectly spherical pearls are also rare making them priceless.

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