Surface

The GIA laboratory uses the term “surface” to rate a pearl’s surface condition. Few pearls are completely blemish-free. When other value factors are equal, the fewer visible blemishes there are on a pearl’s surface, the higher its value.

The GIA Pearl Description System specifies 10 types of blemishes:

Abrasion—A series of scratches on the surface of the pearl

Bump—An irregular bulge, blister, or welt, usually too small to affect basic shape

Chip—An opening or cavity in the surface

Crack—A surface-reaching break or fracture in the nacre, or a break or fracture in the nucleus

Flat—A flat section on an otherwise spherical pearl, usually too small to affect basic shape

Gap—An area where the nacre has not covered the nucleus

Pit—An indentation or depression, found individually or in a group

Scratch—A thin groove or depression in the surface

Spot—An area that is darker, lighter, or duller than the surrounding nacre

Wrinkle—An irregular ridge or crease on the surface