Few
pearls are perfect. The great majority of small pearls even, fail in
one or more of the ideal qualities, and as the size increases
perÂfection becomes more rare. A perfect pearl is not necessarily of
the finest luster, but it must be lustrous and of even luster all over.
If round, it must be spherically round; if pear or ovoid, symmetrically
so, and the skin must be free from blemishes.
Baroque
and button pearls are naturally imperfect pearls, the former being
fantastically irregular in shape and the latter partially deformed.
Imperfections of shape in what are termed round pearls are more
numerous than those unaccustomed to handling them would suppose.
A
lot of pearls which to the casual glance seem to be all quite round,
will be found often on close examination to contain many, if not a
majority, that are not. Upon rolling them separately, irregularities
will appear which the in
