Learn About Pearls

What Are the Different Types of Pearls?

Short answerMost cultured pearls belong to four main types, named for the mollusk or place they come from. Akoya pearls grow in a small saltwater oyster, mostly in Japan. Freshwater pearls grow in mussels, mainly in China. South Sea pearls grow in the large Pinctada maxima oyster, and Tahitian pearls in the black-lipped oyster of French Polynesia. Keshi are cultured pearls with no bead, formed as a by-product.

On this page
  1. The four main types
  2. Keshi and other kinds of pearls
  3. How the types differ

Pearl types are named for the mollusk that grows them, and often for the waters it lives in. GIA counts four major types of whole cultured pearls: Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian and freshwater.1 The tool compare pearl types sets every type in the Learn About Pearls dataset side by side.

The four main cultured pearl types at a glance
Feature Akoya cultured pearlFreshwater cultured pearlSouth Sea cultured pearlTahitian cultured pearl
Mollusk Pinctada fucata (Akoya pearl oyster)2 3Hyriopsis cumingii (triangle shell mussel)2 3 4 5Pinctada maxima (silver-lipped pearl oyster and gold-lipped pearl oyster)2 6Pinctada margaritifera cumingii (black-lipped pearl oyster)1 2 7
Water saltwater3 8freshwater1 2saltwater1 8saltwater1 8
Main producing regions Japan, China and Vietnam3 4 9China1 4 9Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar1 2 6 9French Polynesia1 2 9
Typical size 6–8 mm4 8 9 10 113–15 mm4 89–16 mm4 8 98–14 mm4 8 9 12
Natural colors white and cream3 4 8 11white, cream, pink, peach, orange, lavender and purple2 3 4white, silver, cream, champagne and golden1 4 13 14 15gray, greenish gray, black and brown1 4 8

The four main types#

Keshi and other kinds of pearls#

Keshi are cultured pearls with no bead. They form by accident or on purpose in oysters farmed for Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearls.2 The page keshi pearls explains how they form, and pearls of irregular shape, whatever their type, are called baroque; see baroque pearls.

Some words describe a pearl’s shape or form, not its type. A baroque pearl is any irregularly shaped natural or cultured pearl. Mabe is a Japanese trade term for an assembled cultured blister, first from the Mabe oyster and now from other bivalves as well.2

How the types differ#

The main differences come from the mollusk, including its size. GIA notes that the oyster that produces South Sea cultured pearls is larger than the one that produces Japanese saltwater cultured pearls, which gives it the potential for larger pearls.16 The comparisons section sets the main types side by side, and the page where pearls come from maps where each is farmed.

Start here#

  1. Akoya pearls
  2. Freshwater pearls
  3. South Sea pearls
  4. Tahitian pearls
  5. Keshi pearls
  6. Baroque pearls

Every page in this section#

  • Akoya pearls

    The classic round, white saltwater cultured pearl, grown mostly in Japan.

  • Freshwater pearls

    Cultured pearls from freshwater mussels, mostly grown in China, in a wide range of shapes and colors.

  • South Sea pearls

    The largest cultured pearls, white to golden, from the Pinctada maxima oyster.

  • Tahitian pearls

    Dark, naturally colored cultured pearls from the black-lipped oyster of French Polynesia.

  • Keshi pearls

    Cultured pearls with no bead, formed on Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearl farms.

  • Baroque pearls

    Irregularly shaped pearls, natural or cultured, and why pearls grow off-round.

References#

  1. Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Gem Encyclopedia. Pearl Description. Source · Archived copy
  2. CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, Pearl Commission (2026). The CIBJO Pearl Book (Pearl Blue Book) 2026. Source · Archived copy
  3. Phoebe Shang (2026). Freshwater Akoyas – A Trending Misnomer for Certain Freshwater Pearls. Source · Archived copy
  4. CIBJO Pearl Commission (2025). CIBJO Guides Describing and Classifying Natural and Cultured Pearls, the Producing Molluscs & Responsible Pearling. Source · Archived copy
  5. Doug Fiske and Jeremy Shepherd (2007). Continuity and Change in Chinese Freshwater Pearl Culture. Source · DOI 10.5741/GEMS.43.2.138 · Archived copy
  6. Artitaya Homkrajae, Nanthaporn Nilpetploy, Areeya Manustrong, Nicholas Sturman, Kwanreun Lawanwong and Promlikit Kessrapong (2021). Internal Structures of Known Pinctada maxima Pearls: Cultured Pearls from Operated Marine Mollusks. Source · DOI 10.5741/GEMS.57.3.186 · Archived copy
  7. Assemblée de la Polynésie française (Journal officiel de la Polynésie française) (2017). Loi du pays n° 2017-16 du 18 juillet 2017 réglementant les activités professionnelles liées à la production et la commercialisation des produits perliers et nacriers en Polynésie française. Source · Archived copy
  8. Gemological Institute of America (GIA), FAQ. What are the main types of cultured pearls and what are their distinctive characteristics?. Source · Archived copy
  9. Fisheries Agency of Japan (水産庁) (2026). 真珠養殖をめぐる情勢について (On the situation of pearl culture). Source · Archived copy
  10. Areeya Manustrong (2018). Very Small Akoya Cultured Pearls. Source · Archived copy
  11. Artitaya Homkrajae (2024). Remarkably Large Akoya Bead Cultured Pearls. Source · Archived copy
  12. Oïhana Latchere and others (2018). Influence of water temperature and food on the last stages of cultured pearl mineralization from the black-lip pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera. Source · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0193863 · Archived copy
  13. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. South Sea Pearl Ring (NMNH G10639). Source · Archived copy
  14. Shane Elen (2001). Spectral Reflectance and Fluorescence Characteristics of Natural-Color and Heat-Treated "Golden" South Sea Cultured Pearls. Source · DOI 10.5741/GEMS.37.2.114 · Archived copy
  15. Chunhui Zhou, Artitaya Homkrajae, Joyce Wing Yan Ho, Akira Hyatt and Nicholas Sturman (2012). Update on the Identification of Dye Treatment in Yellow or "Golden" Cultured Pearls. Source · DOI 10.5741/GEMS.48.4.284 · Archived copy
  16. Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Gem Encyclopedia. Pearl Quality Factors. Source · Archived copy
Written by
Learn About Pearls editors
Fact-checked
Learn About Pearls editors,
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Simon,
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Publisher
Unique Pearl, a pearl jeweler
Revision history
  1. : First published. First published
How to cite this page
APA
Learn About Pearls editors. (2026). What Are the Different Types of Pearls? Learn About Pearls. https://learnaboutpearls.com/types/
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“What Are the Different Types of Pearls?” Learn About Pearls, Unique Pearl, November 4, 2026, learnaboutpearls.com/types/.
Chicago
Learn About Pearls editors. “What Are the Different Types of Pearls?” Learn About Pearls. Unique Pearl. Last modified November 4, 2026. https://learnaboutpearls.com/types/.
BibTeX
@misc{lap-types, title = {What Are the Different Types of Pearls?}, author = {{Learn About Pearls editors}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {\url{https://learnaboutpearls.com/types/}}, note = {Learn About Pearls, published by Unique Pearl}}

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  • Comparisons: Side-by-side comparisons of the main pearl types, and of natural, cultured, saltwater and freshwater pearls.
  • Basics: What pearls are, what they are made of, and how natural, cultured and imitation pearls differ.