South Sea pearl is well known for its size as these pearls are usually
larger than other pearls. A regular South sea pearl can be up to 20 mm in
measurement, although the average size is about 13 mm. The large size is
because of the size of the oyster Pinctada Maxima from which these pearls are
extracted and this oyster can grow up to 12 inches in diameter. There are two types
of South sea oysters – silver lipped and golden lipped – which lend the color
overtone to the pearls that they create. The silver lipped oyster produces
pearls with white, blue, silver or aqua overtones while the golden lipped one
produces pearls with deep gold, champagne or cream overtones.
The white South Sea pearl is more commonly found in Australia, you can find more
information through The pearl source reviews while the countries like
Philippines and Indonesia mostly produce the golden variety. The white South
Sea pearls are known for their unique satin like finish and the range of colors
available in these pearls is rare in other varieties. These pearls take almost
2 years to harvest while other pearls take only 9-16 months. The reason is
their unusually large size, which also means that it is very difficult to find
perfectly round white South Sea pearls and the ones that are almost perfectly
round are extremely expensive.