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Baroque Pearl




Akoya pearls (commonly known as cultured saltwater pearls) can also be baroque, but the baroque shape of an akoya pearl differs from that of a freshwater pearl. This is because akoya pearls are bead-nucleated and thus have a perfectly spherical bead within. So in the event a harvested akoya pearl is a baroque, it has a small tail that comes to a sharp point behind a rounded front.

The most valuable of baroque pearls are the South Sea and Tahitian pearls. These pearls are produced by the ''Pinctada margaritifera'', and the ''Pinctada maxima'' (black-lipped Oyster s and white-lipped oysters). Although these are a variety of cultured saltwater pearls, the amount of time that the pearls are cultured dramatically increases the depth of the nacre, and the likelihood of producing a baroque pearl. Most Tahitian pearl farm harvests, for example, produce more than 40 percent baroque and semi-baroque pearls.


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