Pearl Education Part 2 - Shapes of Pearls
A Pictoral Guide to Pearl Shapes
As you have read in Part 1 of our Pearl Education Guide one of the grading factors of pearls is their shape.
This is a pictoral guide to the shapes of pearls because pictures are often easier to understand than words!
As you can see almost round pearls are exactly that, almost round! There is so little difference between almost round and round that when strung on a necklace they look the same. Its only on very close inspection that you can tell the difference.
Teardrop and oval pearls are a very pretty shape, many people actually refer them to round pearls, and you get more pearl for your money as pearls are measured across their diameter not their length.
These are both 7mm pearls.
Button pearls are extremely popular, particularly for stud earrings because they tend to be flatter on one side. This is often (but not always) the side that is attached to the ear stud.
Front and side views of the same button pearl earring. Of course they are not all identical, some can be rounder than others, but they are great if you like large pearl earrings, and they have the benefit of being a fraction of the price of perfectly round ones.
Another alternative to round pearls are flat round pearls called 'Coin Pearls'. 
These tend to be quite large at 8mm or over and are more expensive the smoother the surface.
However, unlike other pearls, the non-smooth surface is probably the most interesting and pretty! Coin pearls can also be grown in other shapes including square and ellipse.
Baroque, egg and potato pearls are the least expensive pearls because of their non-symmetrical shapes. Having said that, they are still beautiful pearls in their own right and make very pretty contemporary pearl jewellery.
Egg Pearls Baroque Pearls Potato Pearls Biwa or Stick Pearls
Biwa pearls are long thin pearls that come from Lake Biwa in Japan. These days stick pearls are frequently called Biwa pearls even though they have not actually come from Lake Biwa.