If you're shopping for a first pearl necklace or timeless gift, we recommend an Akoya pearl strand for its unmatched luster and round beauty. For everyday wear or a more affordable gift, opt for high-grade Freshwater pearls — they offer fantastic value with plenty of style. At PurePearls.com, we offer both Akoya and Freshwater pearl necklaces - all hand-selected for quality and backed by our expert guarantee.

If you're asking which is better — Akoya or Freshwater — the answer really depends upon your style and budget. Akoya pearls offer classic white pearl perfection; Freshwater pearls offer exceptional value and durability.

This article was written for you to answer one of the Top 5 Frequently Asked Pearl Questions of All Time:

Should I buy Freshwater or Akoya pearls?

I’m going to let you cheat here, and answer your question RIGHT NOW, then break down the Why’s and How’s throughout the article in more serious detail. But for those of you that just want a short and sweet answer, here it is:

The biggest MAJOR difference between the Freshwater and Akoya pearl type is … SHAPE.

• Akoya pearls are known for being perfectly round in shape. In the pearl industry, they're known as "Eight Way Rollers" because Akoya pearls will roll smoothly and evenly in all eight directions when placed on a flat surface.
• Freshwater pearls have a much, much larger variety of shapes, the most common and distinctive of them being either potato shapes, or off-round / oval shapes. The higher-up in quality these pearls get, the rounder the pearl shapes will be.
  

Even very close-up inspection and comparison between the highest grades of Akoya pearls will reveal that both qualities offer perfectly round pearls, with near-perfect matching for shape, size, body color, overtone and luster.

• AA+ Quality Akoya Pearl Shape: Perfect Round
• AAA Quality Akoya Pearl Shape: Perfect Round
• Hanadama Quality Pearl Shape: Perfect Round

• AA+ Quality:  Visibly Off-Round to Oval and Egg Shapes, Moderate Variation in Matching Pearl to Pearl Throughout a Necklace Layout.
• AAA Quality:  Slightly Off-Round to Near Round Shapes, Slight to Moderate Variation in Pearl Matching Throughout a Layout.
• AAAA Quality:  Round to the Eye, Less than 3% Variance from True Round. Very Slight to Almost No Variation in Pearl Matching Throughout a Necklace Layout.

Luster is the #1 attribute that makes or breaks pearls as a precious gemstone, and one of the most easily quanitifiable just by looking at them.

To be perfectly honest, it is just a plain fact that most pearl buyers will prefer the mirror-like, glossy luster of the Akoya pearl. In every way, the Akoya pearl's luster just fits the definition of classic white pearl jewelry. For the vast majority of pearl jewelry buyers they'll find that the high reflectivity, light return and shiny luster of the Akoya pearl fits everything they're looking for in a pearl necklace or pair of pearl earrings. High status, luxury-level pearls that will heighten every outfit and occasion.

That said ... I think there’s an idea that Freshwater pearls aren’t as “nice” as saltwater Akoya pearls. It can be kind of correct in that the Freshwater aren't as highly valued as the Akoya, and don't have the same attributes as what the Akoya are famous for, which is that “ball-bearing” shine and perfect roundness. Freshwater pearls displaya lovely, inner “glow” that is unique, and certainly has plenty of takers. Between the two pearl types however, most customers prefer the luster of the Akoya pearl.

Japanese Akoya pearls are gorgeous ... they're been popularized throughout the world as the classic white pearl, having been the first perfectly round cultured pearls introduced into the jewelry market in 1912 by Kokichi Mikimoto.

The ideal of that bright shine, and perfection of matching from pearl to pearl throughout their layouts has been enshrined in the modern public consciousness as what pearls "should" look like.

Their trademark luster is often described as "ball-bearing" or "mirror-like" ... it is very bright, with a very high rate of light return on the surface of the pearl, and objects reflected in their surfaces are anywhere from fairly to incredibly detailed depending on the quality of the pearls.

The Akoya pearls with the highest caliber of luster are the famed Hanadama Akoya pearls, which are Akoya pearls that are certified by specialized pearl grading laborotories in Tokyo, Japan as displaying the highest levels of luster, iridescent orient and the thickest nacre layers. These pearls are individually certified as full hanks, matched pairs for pearl earrings and pearl bracelets, and each strand or pair of pearls is accompanied by its own PSL gemological certificate. To learn more about these lustrous and popular pearls, visit our #1 ranked article:

The Ultimate Guide to Hanadama Pearls

Pure’s AAAA Quality have very fine Luster, but it's different than the bright, glossy shine of the Japanese Akoya (especially a Hanadama-level Akoya)... this pearl type’s luster is subtler, more of a glow  that appears to emanate from within the pearls themselves.

As discussed later in the article, this softer, more satiny shine is due to the pearl's structural composition, which is 100% solid crystalline material.

Light striking and penetrating the surface of the pearl has much farther to travel when returning to the viewer, breaking up and dispersing through millions of layers of crystalline platelets, and creating the visual phenomenon of depth and glow.

For Akoya pearls, you’ll mainly notice pin prick blemishes, lighter or darker areas of organic conchiolin build up visible just under the surface crystal, and small, white wrinkles in the surface nacre.

If you want to know more about Akoya pearl blemishes and inclusions, visit:

The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Akoya Pearl Grading

Freshwater Pearl Inclusions are mostly dull white "chalky spots" and subtle ridges on the pearl surfaces.

For a more detailed breakdown of the Freshwater pearl's inclusions, I highly recommend reading this article:

The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Freshwater Pearl Grading

Saltwater Akoya pearls are what we call “bead nucleated”, and are farmed primarily in the colder Pacific oceans of Japan.

A bead-nucleated pearl is formed when a perfectly round shell bead is surgically implanted into an oyster. This bead acts as a template, guiding the oyster to form a pearl with a round shape as it coats the bead in layers of nacre.

The Akoya pearl oyster is the smallest pearl-bearing saltwater oyster currently being used to create pearls today. It can only accommodate one or two bead nuclei at a time, and after the implantation surgery, the pearl is left to grow for a period of 18 months to two years ... the longer the better, as this allows the pearl to acquire thicker nacre layers.

This internal pearl structure translates into some (pretty cool) things you should know:

Freshwater pearls from China are traditionally “tissue nucleated”. They are grown in man-made ponds and lakes throughout China, typically on small family-owned farms.

This means that tiny, 1.0mm square pieces of mantle tissue are inserted into small incisions made throughout the soft body of the host mussel. These pieces of donor tissue serve as organic nuclei that stimulate pearl sac formation, and eventually, form our beloved, colorful Freshwater pearls.

As the Freshwater mussel begins to create the pearl, it envelops the mantle tissue nucleus in a pearl sac and the donor tissue square inside slowly begins to degrade. This will continue throughout the 2-3 year formation period, until nothing remains in the core of the pearl …

Basically, it creates a pearl made up of 100% solid crystalline nacre (so they're very, very durable little gems).

Freshwater pearl mussels can be nucleated up to 25 times on each side of the shell, so a potential pearl harvest from even a single mussel absolutely dwarfs that of any other pearl type.This larger harvest volume accounts in large part for their less expensive prices.

This means a few (also cool) things you should know about:

A lot of us are stunned when you first encounter the rather large difference in pricing between saltwater Akoya and Freshwater pearls. It can range from $150 to thousands of dollars depending on the pearl jewelry in question.

This AAA Quality, 32-Inch, 8.0-8.5 Akoya Pearl Necklace retails for over $5,000.00 and was recently completed for a Custom Design customer. A comparable necklace created in our 8.5-9.0mm AAAA Quality Freshwater pearls would run around $1,800.00 (and you'll find similar price discrepancies in pearl earrings, bracelets, rings and other kinds of jewelry)

Which pearl type you finally choose to purchase is a balancing act between Price, Luster and Shape among other factors like perceived value and personal aesthetics.

The Japanese Akoya pearl is known the world-over to be THE classic White Pearl Necklace.

These pearls will meet everyone’s expectations for fine surface quality, pearl shape, mirror-like luster and pearl matching, whether it's a pearl necklace or pair of classic pearl stud earrings.

Saltwater Akoya pearls are the higher-end, more elegant choice for pearl lovers. If these pearls will be well-cared for, worn at special events and are going to be a keepsake that’s possibly handed down to the next generation, then I recommend the purchasing the Akoya, as these pearls never disappoint when our little black box is opened.

Because Akoya pearls have become "The Standard" when it comes to the classic white pearl necklace, and meet higher quality standards for pearls (particularly in the luster and shape category, and ESPECIALLY in the Hanadama Akoya pearl grades), they are more highly valued by consumers and the professional jewelry market, and are able to command a higher price over the softer luster, .

Expect Akoya pearl jewelry to start around $250 for the smallest pair of pearl earrings up to $20,000 for the largest, rarest and highest quality Hanadama Akoya pearl necklaces. The average price points will be around $500 to $2,500 to purchase our most popular and enduring Akoya pearl jewelry.  

I find the majority of my customers agree that the Akoya pearl just has that “certain something” … that the pearls have a more elegant presentation overall. At Pure Pearls, you can expect that all of our Akoya pearl jewelry will be meticulously crafted by hand, to order, to meet your highest expectations of luxury, quality and attention to detail. Our commitment to quality craftsmanship and caring customer service ensures that your new Akoya pearls will forever become a cherished part of your family's story.

If you're interested in learning more about the ins and outs of buying Akoya pearls, visit my #1 Google Ranked article:

The Ultimate Guide To Buying Akoya Pearls