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VALUES AND COMMERCE OF PEARLS
Nuggets : when the pearls are somewhat round, but are indented or slightly irregular.
Haystacks: when the pearls are either round or oval, with the top considerably elevated.
Turtlebacks : when the pearls are a trifle longer than they are wide, with a domed surface not much elevated. This form is quite prevalent among American pearls.
Strawberry pearls : those that are round or elongated and entirely covered with prickly points, somewhat resembling a strawberry or pickle. It is believed that these irregular marks are frequently pro­duced by minute pearls.
"Blister" and "Chicot" are names applied to those pearls that are found embedded within a nacreous coating, often containing mud, water, or imperfect mother-of-pearl. After these "blisters," as they are termed, are broken, and layer after layer has been removed from the contents, very fine pearls have frequently been found.
Peelers : a term applied to pearls having imperfect surfaces or skins that may have some inner layers which are perfect. Pearls having opaque bands or rings are rarely peeled with much success as this opaque layer frequently extends to some depth.
Cylindrical pearls : for pearls that have the form of a cylinder, being elongated and flattened at each end.
Hammer pearls: when pearls are long and somewhat rounded and assume the shape of a hammer or barrel. These are rounded or domed at the side and flattened at the ends.
Baroque (Wart pearls in German) : when pearls are not of any per­fect form such as round, pear, ovate, or any regular form, they are termed baroque, and this term covers a large class of varieties, such as all that follow (except seed- and half-pearls).
Double, triple, or twin pearls are those that are made up of two or more pearls united together in a single nacreous coating, showing, however, that they are still separate pearls.
Monster pearls: this name was formerly applied to very large, irregular, pearly masses which either resembled some animal or were adapted to form the head, trunk, or other part of an animal : these are also occasionally called "Paragons."
Bird's-eye : a name used for a pearl that has dull spots, giving it the appearance of a bird's eye.
"Ring-a-round" is a term applied to such pearls as are black, brown, pink, or white, and have a circle running around the pearl itself of some distinctive contrasting color, as white on black, pink on brown or black on white.
Embedded pearls are those that are partly or entirely surrounded
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