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Special Offers - Augustina's Jewelry is proud to offer FREE SHIPPING via USPS Priority Mail for orders over $100.
To enjoy Free Shipping over $100, please make sure to choose USPS for shipping method during checkout. Generally speaking, we will ask for signature upon delivery for either Fedex or USPS shipping. This is to protect the package and to avoid any disputes on whether the package was received or not.
All pearls come with a beautiful jewelry gift box and ship within 24 hours of your order.
State sales tax of 6% will be applied to orders shipped to Pennsylvania. No tax in the other 49 states!
Shipping rates are based on the method selected and the shipping address. Rates are displayed during checkout before payment is collected.
Offer Expires: 12/31/2012
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When shopping for quality pearl jewelry, look for pearls with high luster, few surface imperfections and that the pearls match in color, shape, and size.
Color
When choosing pearls, the first decision is to pick color and make sure that pearls match in color. Freshwater pearls could have three kinds of natural color, white, lavender or cream. Akoya pearls are are white rosy or white creamy. South Seas pearls are silver-white, and Tahitian pearls are silvery-black.
Luster
The luster of the pearl is dependant upon the thickness of a pearl's nacre, the semi-opaque layers of calcium carbonate that make up the pearl. Thicker nacre produces deeper luster, resulting in a reflective sheen that almost glows.
Shape
Pearls have different shapes in the oysters. Normally only very round pearls will be picked to sell for Akoya pearls, SouthSea pearls, or Tahitian pearls. Fresh Water Cultured Pearls could be in various shapes, flat, oval, button or off round. Our Fresh Water cultured pearls are all near round.
Surface Markings
Pearls could have imperfection on its surface either naturally born or during production. A pearl with fewer surface markings is more rare and therefore more valuable. Our Akoya Salt Water Cultured pearls are flawless or with very few blemishes. Our Fresh Water Cultured Pearls are Lightly Spotted, which is high quality in the same category.
Size
Different types and/or sizes of oysters produce pearls in different sizes. When other criteria is the same, bigger pearls are more valuable. We offers different pearl types in a range of sizes.
- At Augustina's Jewelry, we hand-pick all the pearls we sell as jewelry on our website. They are of the absolute highest quality available today. All our Akoya saltwater pearls are the higest grade (AAA quality) in the A/AA/AAA system. All our tahitian pearls are the highest grade (A) in A-B-C-D grading system. Each harvest season, our representatives visit the pearl farms overseas and spent hours and days hand picking individual pearls from millions of pearls harvested and processed by the farmers. This ensures the best pearls at the lowest price.
In comparing the surface, luster, nacre, roundness and matching continuity, the quality could vary a lot, as could the price. We pick only the best pearls and negotiate the best price for them.
Freshwater Cultured Pearls do not have a common grading system. They also vary in quality depending on surface, luster and roundness. We only sell high end freshwater pearls. Generally speaking, the freshwater pearls are not as round with as high a luster as the Akoya pearls. They also bear more blemishes. But that's not always true. The Freshwater Pearl Farmers separate their own pearls in 1-2-3-4-5-6 level, just to sell pearls at different price with different quality. Most of the Freshwater pearls sold in North America are from level 4 to lever 6, which means many blemishes, low luster and potato shapes.
At Augustina's Jewelry, we sell mostly level 2 to level 3 Freshwater pearls, which mean much higher luster and much better surface, also quite round. The pearls will be easily mistaken as High-Quality Saltwater pearls if not judging closely and carefully. We also have level 1 Gem Quality Freshwater Pearls available, which means excellent luster, surface and a very round pearl. And because they don't have Mother-Core, Freshwater pearls have much thicker nacre and the luster lasts must longer. We have these sunning pieces available in our store. So please do not be blinded by the claims that "Best Freshwater 7.5mm 18 Inch Pearl Necklace, on sale for $75", as those vendors sell low-end level 5-6 freshwater pearls.
We guarantee you will be overjoyed at the quality of our products. We can say this with confidence because we have one of the lowest return rates on our products. That said, we still offer a 30-day, 100% money back guarantee.
- What are Akoya Saltwater Cultured Pearls?
An Akoya cultured pearl is produced by inserting a nucleus together with a tiny speck of mantle tissue into the Akoya Oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii). Mie, Ehime, Kumamoto, Oita and Nagasaki are the major culturing areas in Japan.
Akoya pearls are the most difficult to grow due to the low survival rates of the host oysters. Less than 5 in 10 will survive the nucleation process. Of the survivors, only about 40% will successfully encircle the shell nucleus irritant with nacre. Overall, less than 5% of pearl output can be considered "high quality". Our agents are selecting the best quality pearls from millions of the harvested pearls during the best season.
What are Freshwater Cultured Pearls?
Freshwater pearls are easily found in bays and rivers throughout the world. They are cultivated from freshwater mollusks and are produced by Japan, China, and The United States. Freshwater shell and pearl mussels are from the family Unionidae from which about 20 different species are commercially harvested. The most common color for freshwater cultured pearls is white. There are some other natural colors, such as lavender, dark purple, cream, and pink, depending on the type of mussels. There are multiple pearl beads harvested from one oyster. They could be in different shapes: off round, button, oval, rice, etc. Freshwater pearls are generally cultured without Mother-core and thus called the "all natural product". Of course, there are people trying to nucleate freshwater mussels with shell nuclei implants in both the creatures' bodies as well as in their mantles. If successfully done, these "Freshwater Pearls" will also be round. But so far there is no great success. All of our freshwater pearls are all natural products without mother core.
What are Tahitian Pearls?
Tahitian Black Pearls (also called SouthSea Black pearls) are cultivated in the black-lip oyster found in a variety of large pearl oysters found primarily in French Polynesia. The Tahitian pearls produced have the color in natural tints of black, silver, gray, green, orange, gold, blue and purple. An adult Pinctada oyster can reach a diameter of 30 centimeters, with weight exceeding 5 kilograms (over 10 pounds). The beautiful color combined with the large size command very high prices.
What are South Sea Pearls?
South Sea pearls are cultivated using the Pinctada maxima oyster (as called the silver lip or gold lip oyster), also known as the Silver-Lipped oyster, found in the South Seas (an area centered around Northern Australia and South-East Asia including Myanmar and Indonesia). These oysters have always been prized for their famous thick shells of lustrous mother-of-pearl. In the days of fishing for the shell, these oysters occationally yielded rare and stunning naturally ocurring pearls. Southsea pearls are probably the most expensive ones on the market. They run from 10 to 20 mm, and pearls come in many light colors and overtones, such as gold, silver, rose, white, cream, and champagne.
Q: What are the A/D Tahitian Pearl Grading System?
A: This system grades pearls on a scale that runs from A to D. A is the highest grade. This system is used in French Polynesia (based on the government standard) to grade Tahitian pearls. It is sometimes referred to as "The Tahitian System."
Grade A is the highest-quality pearl, with a very high luster and only minor imperfections over less than 10% of its surface.
Grade B is high or medium luster with a surface having some visible imperfections over no more than 30% of its area.
Grade C is a medium luster with surface defects over not more than 60% of its surface area.
Grade D pearls may have many slight defects (but no deep ones) over 60% of its surface, or it might have deep defects over no more than 60% of its surface, or a combo of minor and deep defects over no more than 60% of its surface. The luster is irrelevant in this grade of pearl. Even very lustrous pearls will be graded D if their surface is blemished this much. Pearls below D grade are considered not acceptable for use as jewelry.
Q: What are the Akoya Pearl Grading System?
Grade
|
Luster
|
Nacre
|
Blemish
|
Shape
|
Color
|
Matching |
| A to A+
|
Medium to Good
|
Medium
|
Lightly Blemished
|
Slightly Off round
to mostly round
|
White, medium cream, medium pink body color with pink, gray, green overtone |
Good |
AA to AA+
|
Good to High
|
Medium to Thick
|
Slightly blemished to lightly blemished
|
Slight off round mostly round
|
White, light cream, pink body color with pink, gray, green overtone
|
Good to Very Good |
AAA to AAA+
|
Very High to Excellent
|
Thick to Very Thick
|
Unblemished to very slightly blemished
|
Round
|
White body color with light pink, gray overtone
|
Very Good to Excellent
| |
- For a limited time from 1/1/2009 - 12/30/2012 Augustina's Jewelry is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders $99.99 or more to the Continental US.
Offer Expires: 12/31/2012
Shipping Info
| Shipping method |
If you order by |
It should arrive in |
Standard Shipping |
Continental US |
Any time |
3-7 business days |
Alaska |
Any time |
3-7 business days |
Hawaii |
Any time |
3-7 business days |
US Territories |
Any time |
4-8 business days |
Return Policy We offer 30 day 100% money back guarantee. If you return within 30 days after you receive the item, we will refund you 100% of the price you paid (excluding the Shipping and Handling fee). |
We offer 30 day 100% money back guarantee. If you return within 30 days after you receive the item, we will refund you 100% of the price you paid (excluding the Shipping and Handling fee).
If you are not 100% satisfied, merchandise can be returned for exchange or refund. |
