How Akoya Pearls are classified

The most important and first thing you should understand about pearl grading is that, unlike diamonds, there is no standardized system. Each brand or company creates its own subjective system. Therefore, you should not rely on it to compare pearls from different companies.

This is the system we use at SY Perlas to grade our Akoya pearls:

SY Signature

The pearls we categorize as S&Y Signature are exceptional pearls. These pearls are usually sold on the wholesale market, loose, or in pairs and undrilled. They are generally reserved for creating earrings, pendants, or rings, but can also be used to create a necklace of exceptional quality pearls.

They show a very intense shine.
They show an excellent, almost mirror-like reflection.
Their shape is completely round
Surface free of imperfections.
Thick nacre
Excellent matching.

AAA

The shine is excellent, intense, and reflective.
It shows a very defined reflection.
The shape is round.
Surface clean at 98%.
The nacre is visibly thick.
Excellent matching.

AA+

The shine is very intense.
It shows a defined reflection.
The shape is round
Surface clean at 90-95%, they may have some small, inconspicuous imperfection or in a less visible area.
The nacre thickness is visibly thick.
Matching between very good and excellent.

The shine is between intense and good.
It shows a good reflection.
The shape is round
Surface clean at 80-90%, they may have some small, inconspicuous imperfection or in a less visible area.
The nacre thickness is medium.
Very good matching.

Medium to low shine.
It shows a reflection between good and diffused.
The shape is semi-round.
Surface clean on more than 60% of the surface.
The nacre thickness is thin.
Good to medium matching.

Finally, we want to clarify that these criteria are not completely static; if some pearls stand out especially in one of the factors, they can be graded higher or lower. For example, a pearl that has a small imperfection but shows exceptional shine can be graded as AAA, even though pearls in this category generally have a clean surface.

At SY Pearls we consider shine, the most important quality of pearls, so this greatly determines the assigned grade.

The classification of Akoya pearls.