Deciding to sell a valuable heirloom lying in the bottom of your jewelry box to fulfil a need is hard. There comes a time in your life, when you have to sell them but the real question arises is how to price them. If you sell them on Craig list or a pawn store then obviously, the price can be undervalued.
Therefore first have the valuable pearl jewelry appraised from a qualified professional. There will be a need to pay an appraisal fee but it is an investment.
Even when you buy pearl earrings or rings from PearlsOnly, make sure to see the report, so as to check if it matches with GIA’s report database. It assures that the available pearl is graded and priced as per a regulated GIA standard.
Table of Contents
GIA criteria for pearl value appraisal
GIA has defined the best practices and methods to evaluate pearls quality just like it has for diamonds [4 C for diamond quality]. Pearl classification is an intricate process, so it will need a trained appraiser.
- Size – Pearls with round or close to round shape get measured around their diameters. 1 mm = 1/25th The other shapes like tear-drop, oval, and more get measured in width/diameter and length /depth.
- Shape – Symmetrical, asymmetrical and spherical are the three main categories. Baroque and Semi-baroque fall under asymmetrical category. Basic seven shapes are available including near-round, round, oval, drop, button, baroque, and semi-baroque.
- Color – Body color [noticeable pearl color], overtone [translucent color/s lying over body color] and orient [lustrous rainbow color shimmering from beneath the outer layer] are the three components associated with color get considered.
- Luster – Pearls surface reflects light, which offers the gem a unique beauty. Every pearl variety differ in their luster level. Its intensity gets measured in GIA luster scales ranging from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Poor’.
- Surface – As pearls are produced by oysters, they are not totally perfect. There are irregularities and blemishes on its surface. If the perfections are multiple and can affect pearls durability then value is low.
- Nacre quality – The shiny lustrous layer seen is all nacre. Layers of layers accumulate to form the pearl. Thick nacre layer means the pearl is durable and beautiful. The thickness measurement of nacre are given as optional description on the GIA reports.
- Matching – Uniformity of pearl necklace depends on skilled grader. The six value factors need to match across all the beads in the jewelry item near to perfect. GIA matching scales range from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Poor’. If it is a single pearl than ‘Not Applicable’.
Pearl Classification report helps to understand the pearl jewelry’s quality and how to determine its resale price.
