The Japanese word Handama means “spherical flower” and describes the most perfect of Akoya pearls which are only of the highest possible value from any harvest of pearls in the region. These pearls are so sought after that prior to auction they are classed differently and set aside in their own lots. This grading of Akoya pearls is respected by the industry despite there not being a standardized grading currently in place to be used. These pearls’ name was coined by the founder of the Akoya pearl industry. Though not officially recognized the term Handama is still used.
These Hanadama pearls are pure and thusly considered the best. There are a few things one must keep in mind when discussing this brand of Akoya pearl and the first is that Hanadama is the highest quality of Akoya pearl that can be found so if you are ever purchasing pearls and the vendor tries to sell you Akoya pearls in a strand as better than Hanadama then either the seller does not get the quality assessed to these pearls or is trying to swindle you out of your hard earned money. The second is the same as the first – the superiority of the Hanadama Akoya pearl cannot be trumped.
In order to achieve this type of standard the pearls must be subjected to several main criteria for grading of the overall quality:
-    The depth of the nacre must be less than .40 mm on any pearl that is chosen to be testes.
-    The luster of the pearl, otherwise known as the teri-value, has to be very strong.
-    There cannot be anything more than very slight, subtle imperfections.
Many will notice that certificates of grading for the Hanadama pearls allow a nacre side to be twice as thick and one must keep it in mind that the depth is tested on a series of random pearls from a string and is by no means indicative of the string as a whole. Any given pearl in a string can be vary slightly from one to another and every Handama string can have pearls anywhere from .40 mm to 1.00 mm in nacre depth or more than that. Consistently guaranteeing nacre depth throughout a strand is impossible.
It is very true that each and every pearl is unique and that is their inherent beauty. The Hanadama Pearl Certificate does not allow for zero grading for imperfections because, and this is very simple, all pearls are imperfect to some degree. Pearls, after all, are organically grown gems made from sand. Though an imperfection in a pearl may go completely unnoticed to a consumer they do exist. It is for this reason that the Pearl Science Laboratory of Japan does not allow for ‘perfectly flawless’ in the grading of pearls.
Whether you are shopping for your wife or girlfriend or simply as an investment you cannot go wrong with the decision to purchase Akoya pearls – especially those with the Hanadama certificate because they represent perfection and you can never go wrong with perfection – or, at the very least, an incredibly close facsimile.
Art Morse A jeweler for more than 20 years try these online sites

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