A Buyer’s Guide to Pearl Earrings

One of the great things about buying pearl earrings is that you don’t need to worry too much about the occasion for which they’ll be worn when choosing a pair; most pearl earrings are appropriate and beautiful for any event and wardrobe. Whether you’re shopping for pearl earrings as a gift or as a piece for your own jewelry collection, you can be certain that pearls are a great choice. The classic elegance of pearl earrings suits just about anyone.

In the past, pearl earrings were predominantly prohibitively expensive because of the scarcity of natural pearls. Times have changed, however, and the use of cultured pearls in pearl earrings has created much more affordable options. Whereas a natural pearl comes into being when a foreign irritant enters the shell of an oyster or mollusk by chance, a cultured pearl can be created by deliberately introducing outside agents into an oyster’s shell. In either case, the mollusk or oyster will generate nacre to coat the irritant, resulting in a pearl.

Factors to Consider When Purchasing Pearl Earrings

For any type of pearl jewelry, including pearl earrings with black pearls, cultured pearls or freshwater pearls, the pearls’ luster is an important feature to consider. Lustrous pearls have nearly transparent nacre so that they reflect light brilliantly. A pair of pearl earrings with lustrous pearls is extraordinarily beautiful.

Smoothness and shape are also important in pearls. A perfectly round and smooth pearl, free from surface imperfections, is the pinnacle of pearl quality. The quality of a pearl is generally judged according to a range of four grades: A, AA, AAA, and AAA+. A pearl that receives an AAA or AAA+ grading is of the highest quality; this pearl will have high luster and a smooth surface. Another factor to consider as you shop for pearl earrings is pearl color. Though the first color that likely comes to mind when you visualize a pearl is white, pearls actually come in a variety of hues. White and cream pearls are the most common, but black pearls are also highly prized. For white pearls, pink or silver overtones are most sought after, while overtones of green or blue are most desirable in black pearls.

Because pearl earrings come in sets, matching the pearls can be important. Particularly if there are multiple pearls within one earring, coordination between the gems makes the set more desirable.

Pearl earrings have been a popular piece of fine jewelry for many years, so the variety of styles of pearl earrings available is almost endless. Explore the Sam’s Club selection online to find high quality pearl earrings at great prices every day!