Shapes of cultured Tahitian pearls.

[smartroh]

There are five different shapes of cultured Tahitian pearls:

1) Round: Perfectly round shaped or nearly round shaped with not more than a 2% variation in its diameter.

2) Semi-round: Very near to round shape pearls that has a diameter greater than 2%, but less than 5%.

3) Semi-baroque: Noticeably off-round shape that includes pear, oval, button and drop.

4) Baroque: Irregular, asymmetrical shape. Baroque pearls, by definition, lack an axis of symmetry.

5) Circles: More than one third of the surface exhibits distinctly visible circles thought to be produced by 'spinning'.