How Freshwater 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 consider it when comparing pearls from different companies.

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

S&Y Signature

The pearls we categorize as SY Signature are exceptional pearls. These pearls are usually sold on the wholesale market, loose, 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.

The highest grade in Freshwater pearls.
They show a very intense shine and a deep orient with a lot of reflection.
In the case of round pearls (we also grade pearls of other shapes, such as baroque or drop, for example), they are perfectly round.
Surface free of imperfections.
They belong to the top 0.1% of the harvest.
Excellent matching.

AAA

Pearls of excellent quality; in the case of necklaces, this is the highest grade for pearls that are not sold loose.
Excellent shine.
In the case of round pearls (we also grade pearls of other shapes, such as baroque or drop, for example), they appear round to the eye.
Clean surface.
They belong to the top 1% of the harvest.
Excellent matching.

AA+

Pearls of very high quality.
The shine ranges from good to intense.
In the case of round pearls, they look round from half a meter away. (We also grade pearls of other shapes, such as baroque or drop, for example)
Surface clean in 80-90%, they may have some small, unobtrusive imperfection or in a less visible area.
They belong to the top 5% of the harvest.
Very good matching.

Good quality pearls
Good shine.
In the case of round pearls (we also grade pearls of other shapes, such as baroque or drop, for example), they are between round and semi-round.
Surface clean in 60-80%.
They belong to the top 10% of the harvest.
Good matching.

Medium-high quality pearls.
Medium shine
In the case of round pearls (we also grade pearls of other shapes, such as baroque or drop, for example), they are semi-round.
Surface clean on more than 50% of the surface.
They belong to the top 20% of the harvest.
Good to medium matching.

Commercial quality

Medium-low or low shine or no shine
Semi-round.
With moderate to high imperfections.

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, although 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 freshwater pearls.