South Sea pearls are by far the most valuable and cherished pearls found on the market today.  These pearls are produced by the silver or golden lipped oyster, known scientifically as the Pinctada maxima oyster, which are found on the shores of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Both golden & white South Sea pearls are very rare and very difficult to find in most jewelry stores, especially in higher qualities.  All of our South Sea pearls are 100% genuine South Sea pearls, which have never been treated or “enhanced” in any way.  The Pearl Source offers an extensive and wide range of South Sea pearl necklaces and jewelry.

All South Sea pearls purchased at The Pearl Source are imported, sorted, and graded exclusively by The Pearl Source at our facilities in Los Angeles, CA. Our grading system is extremely stringent so that our pearls set the standard for the industry. Our system consists of four grades: AAAA, AAA, AA, A. Our grading is comparable to the A-D system commonly used in the pearl industry for Tahitian & South Sea Pearls.

South Sea pearls dominate the pearl world in size, and are generally found between 9mm and 15mm, though some pearls can be found as large as 20mm in size!  These larger and extremely rare pearls are extremely valuable, especially in the higher qualities.  Pearls below 10mm are typically considered small in size.  10mm until 12mm are generally the more popular sizes selected for necklaces, while anything above 13mm is considered to be larger, rarer, and more valuable.  South Sea pearl necklaces often graduate in size, though The Pearl Source offers both graduated and non-graduated pearl necklaces.  None of our graduated necklaces graduate by more than 3 millimeters.  They graduate slowly and evenly in size from the smallest-size pearls in the back to the largest in the front of the necklace.