South Sea Pearls Grading
The A-D grading system used for Tahitian pearls, as enforced by the Ministry of Pearl Culture and the Tahitian Pearl Promotion Board (GIE) is nearly identical to that used for South Sea pearls in the current pearl market.
DawnRose Pearls only sell AA-AAA quality of South Sea pearl strand, and only choose the South Sea pearls with AA+-AAA or gem quality to assemble earring and pendant.
An overview of pearl grading factors can be found here.
A-D System used universally for South Sea and Tahitian Pearls | DawnRose Pearls A-AAA system | Surface | Luster |
A | AAA | Very slight concentrated imperfections; Only a single deep inclusion allowable; <10% flaw surface; Earrings/pendant is set perfectly clean(<1-5%). | Very high |
A/B | AA+ | Slight concentrated imperfections; Only one or two deep inclusions allowable; <20% flaw surface; Earrings/pendant is set clean(<10%). | High-very high |
B | AA | Some visible defects; <30% flaw surface | High-Medium |
C | Not sold at DawnRose Pearls | some slight concentrated imperfections with 10% of deep imperfections tolerated <60% flaw surface | Medium |
D | Not sold at DawnRose Pearls | Heavily dotted >60% deep flaws | Irrelevant |