A Pearl Glossary Here are some key terms relating to pearls: Akoya: a Japanese oyster for producing seawater-cultured pearls. Baroque: an irregularly shaped cultured pearl. Can be further classified as semi-baroque or fishtail baroque (or heavy), depending on the degree of formation. Black-lip: name for oysters producing Tahitian Black Group of pearls among South Sea Pearls. Choker: 14- or 16-inch necklace of which the pearls are nearly uniform in size.

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Cultivation: man-made process for harvesting pearls from oysters or mussels. Cultured: Formation of pearl has started by inserting living mantle tissue into a mother oyster or mussel, with or without a bead. Gold-Lip : a pearl oyster mainly in the northern equatorial seas of Southeast Asia. Its is a family of pinctada maxima and its inner edge of shell is often golden yellow for producing gold or yellow tinted South Sea pearl. Graduated Strand : a pearl strand normally 17 inches in length. It is a necklace with the largest pearl in the center followed by smaller pearls in graduation on both sides. Hama-Age : a stage in which Akoya cultured pearls is harvested and waiting for being processed. It is a Japanese term and pronounced "hah-mah-ah-ghay." Kan: ancient weight unit of Japan, still used today. One Kan equals one thousand momme, or 3.75kg. Keshi: naturally formed small pearl found in oysters or mollusks suitable for producing cultured pearls; also called "poppy" or "seed" pearl. Mabe: a host oyster inhabiting the Japanese coast and Southeast Asia for producing "half pearl" or hemispherical pearls. Mantle: part of an oyster inhabiting Japanese coast and Southeast Asia for producing "half pearl" or hemispherical pearl. Matinee: 22-inch long uniform necklace. Mother-of-pearl: inside of shell of certain oysters and mollusks Nacre : an organic substance secreted by oysters. Layer by layer, it covers an irritant to form a pearl. Natural : pearls that are not interfered with by man Nucleous : a small bead made from mother-of-pearl from freshwater mussels. Opera: 30-inch long uniform necklace Orient: a term describing the level of luminosity of a pearl's surface. Pearl : natural pearl Silver-Lip: a species of oyster inhabiting Indonesian and Australian waters. Edge of outer shell is often silvery-white. It is also called "white lip." Light-colored South Sea pearls are produced from it. South Sea pearl: a collective name for the pearls, which are produced by families of large oysters, pinctada maxima and pinctada margaritifera. Uniform Necklace: pearls used in this necklace are uniform in size with tolerance of ½ mm