Pearl Shapes

Pearls come in many different shapes other than round, button, baroque and drop. In fact the term "baroque" is such a general, it can be used to describe almost any pearl that is not round. But sometimes you come across pearls that are so uniquely shaped that you can't help but say "WOW".

I have found pearls shaped like animals. I have found pearls shaped like fruit. I have found pearls shaped like people.

Common belief is that pearls are round. I think we have Mikimoto to thank for that. Round pearls are beautiful, make no mistake about it. Pearls are a true jewel of Mother Nature who will once in a while give us a surprise.

I blame jewellery stores for pushing standardisation. Most jewellery stores sell only a few pieces of pearl jewellery mostly consisting of Chinese freshwater pearls or a few round south sea pearls and the occasional Tahitian pearl. People have been brainwashed into everything has to be a uniform shape and color.

Sometimes the unique shape of a pearl is easy to make out what it is, but some shapes require you to tilt your head, squint an eye, turn it around just to make out what the shape is. This just goes to show that some of the things you find in nature are pretty cool.

Unusual shaped pearls are the result of different factors. It may be the environmental condition. It may be the something else found its way inside the oyster. There are different reasons for different shapes. But in the end it doesn't really matter what caused the odd shape, all we need to do is appreciate and love it.