All You Need to Know About White South Sea Pearls

White South Sea pearls are amongst the most valuable and beautiful of all pearl types. Their amazing luster and the stunning sizes that they grow to set them apart, making them highly desirable and coveted.

White South Sea pearls are exclusive and luxurious, and simply put, they are the perfect pearl. Here’s what you need to know about White South Sea pearls before you buy.

Who Wears White South Sea Pearls?

Akoya pearls may be the most popular type of saltwater pearls, but White South Sea are the most prestigious. So much so that they’re called the Queen of pearls.

Because of their large, statement size, White South Sea pearls are perfect for a formal occasion or to quickly elevate a simple outfit.

You can often spot these particular pearls on the red carpet, worn by high profile celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Miley Cyrus, Deepika Padukone and Scarlet Johansson.

White South Sea pearls easily noticeable and take the focus of any outfit, whether in simple dangles like Jolie’s above, or in a dazzling statement necklace like Padukone’s.

Types of White South Sea Pearl Jewelry

The beauty of the White South Sea pearl is that because of its size and beauty, even a single pearl can take center stage. You don’t need an entire strand to make a statement. A perfectly crafted pendant, dangle earrings or a ring are some ways to flaunt White South Sea pearls.

Pearl Pendant in Yellow Gold by Paspaley, the largest producer of White South Sea pearls.

If the price point is within your range, then a strand of White South Sea pearls is sure to make a statement. However, this can cost anywhere between $10,000 to well over $300,000 depending on the quality of the pearl and the craftsmanship of the piece.

While white gold offers the best complementary color for White South Sea pearls, accentuating their soft overtones and body color, yellow or rose gold provides a strong contrast which brings out the beauty of the pearl and the setting at the same time.

Adding diamond melees to the mix brings in brilliance and sparkle which beautifully sets off the pearl’s color and luster.

What Makes White South Sea Pearls So Special?

White South Sea pearls come from the silver lipped Pinctada Maxima, the largest pearl producing oyster. These pearls are have stunning size, luster and surface quality. Here are some characteristics that set White South Sea pearls apart from others.

Exceptional Luster

South Sea pearls have gorgeous luster which sets them apart from other types and makes them immediately noticeable. The reason these pearls showcase such beautiful luster is because of the quality of nacre and the way they interact with light.

White South Sea pearls have a very thick layer of nacre (about 2.0mm to 4.0mm) which is much thicker than other types of saltwater pearls, like Akoya or Tahitian. What this means is that when light penetrates the pearl, it’s refracted off the aragonite crystals within to create a soft, luminous glow.

Largest Sizes of All Cultured Pearls

White South Sea pearls have the largest sizes among cultured pearls because of the longer developing period they undergo. While freshwater pearls are ready in about 6 months to 1 year and Tahitian pearls develop in under 2 years, White South Sea pearls take about 2-5 years to fully form. This extended development period means that the pearls are able to grow to large sizes.

White South Sea pearls average between 8.0mm to 12.0mm in size, but some larger ones can reach 20.0mm. To put this in perspective, the average Akoya pearl size is under 8.0mm.

Higher Value

White South Sea command the highest prices of all pearl types, often exceeding the prices of even Golden South Sea. These pearls are rarer, take longer to form and involve precise and laborious farming techniques.

A single average-sized high-quality White South Sea pearl can cost upwards of $500 while larger pearls (over 17.0mm) can easily command prices exceeding $5000. A strand of White South Sea pearls can cost up to 10 times more than the highest quality freshwater pearl strand. White South Sea pearls retain their value, generally making them good investments.

Very Rare

The Pinctada Maxima is a delicate oyster, attached to its environment and habitat. If in an unnatural environment, the creature tends to get stressed and, in many cases, diseased. This means that attempts to farm White South Sea pearls outside of the oyster’s natural environment has met with little success, restricting the farming of these pearls.

This contributes to the pearl’s rarity. Other reasons that make White South Sea pearls so rare are the longer farming period and the fact that each oyster has only one bead-nucleus at a time.  

Beautiful Colors and Overtones

White South Sea pearls typically come in white, cream or silver. While White South Sea pearls also feature overtones, these aren’t as noticeable as the overtones on Akoya or Tahitian pearls, for example. Typical overtones for White South Sea pearls are rose, cream, ivory and sometimes blue and green.

Baroque White South Sea Pearls

Sometimes, these pearls can form in slightly irregular or baroque shapes. Baroque White South Sea pearls are much less expensive than their perfectly round equivalents, which make them an excellent choice if you’re on a budget. You can still have all the luster and beauty associated with the White South Sea pearl without the steep cost.

A pair of baroque White South Sea earrings at a great price point. See them here.

Baroque pearls also come with a range of advantages of their own. Each baroque pearl is unique and individual in nature, often have better luster, overtone and sometimes orient than perfectly round pearls and have an avant-garde, modern look when set into jewelry.

Where Do White South Sea Pearls Come From?

Most White South Sea pearls come from Australia, mainly from a Northwestern region known as Broome. This is the last place in the world where pearls are cultured in wild oysters.

The oysters are picked from the wild, subjected to the culturing process and then placed back into the water. These oysters are carefully watched until they’re ready to be harvested. Each oyster creates just one pearl at a time.

Should I Buy White South Sea Pearls?

White South Sea pearls are perfect for any occasion, be it for a dressed down look with jeans and a sweater or for a formal red carpet event.

Here’s why they’re perfect for anyone:

1. White South Sea pearls suit all skin tones and complexions, making them a versatile choice for anyone.
2. They’re often seen as a good investment as they typically retain their value over time.
3. These pearls can be kept for generations, as a family heirloom to be passed down the line.
4. You don’t need an entire strand, but can make a statement with a single well-chosen piece of White South Sea pearl jewelry.
5. They’re the epitome of pearl luxury and prestige.
6. They’re unmatched in their beauty, size and value.
7. They’re rare and exclusive.