From the 1800s, Australia was the primary source of the world's most valuable natural pearl - the South Sea pearl - product of the world's largest pearl producing oyster, the Pinctada maxima.

Major beds of Pinctada maxima were discovered off Australia's north coast in the early 1800s. Only limited Pinctada maxima pearl grounds were previously known in the region. Following the discovery, Australia produced about 75% of the world's mother-of-pearl. Many of the finest natural pearls known to man came from this region.

Mother-of-pearl was for decades the material of choice for buttons but demand was decimated in the 1950s with the invention of plastic buttons. The last two surviving Australian pearling masters turned their hands from diving for natural pearls to pearl culture. The Australians knew their pearls would be highly sought after should they successfully coax the Pinctada maxima into yielding a cultured pearl. Their efforts led to Australia pioneering the cultured South Sea pearl.

Cultured South Sea pearls range from 10 to 15 millimeters, but larger examples can reach between 16 and 20 millimeters. Only cultured pearls from the Pinctada maxima possess the beautiful transparency and color overtone known as "orient," with rainbow hues which can range from white pink, to silver pink, through to dark gold.

Originally exclusive to Australia, South Sea pearls are now also farmed in Indonesia, Burma, and the Philippines. However the characteristics and quality of pearls from these regions can vary greatly. Australian oysters and ocean conditions are generally credited with producing the highest quality, largest pearls. Australian pearls can throw fancy colors, including red-gold - extremely rare and highly regarded. Indonesia and Burma produce mainly white to yellow and also gold while the Philippines produces mainly yellow and gold.

The Pinctada maxima shell is rare and will not survive outside the small areas of its natural environment, making it extremely difficult to cultivate. Highly labor intensive, Pinctada maxima farms are by necessity situated in remote locations. To protect the wild natural stocks of oysters in Australia, governments strictly enforce production quotas.

Not every Pinctada maxima shell will produce a pearl and each oyster can grow only one pearl at a time. Good-quality, 10 to 15 millimeter pearls usually take two years to grow. Larger pearls are generally found only after the fourth to sixth year of the farming cycle.

What sets South Sea pearls apart is the unique beauty of their nacre. As with natural South Sea pearls, it is the quality and thickness of nacre that gives the pearls incredible luster that will last for generations. In high-quality pearls, nacre thickness tends to be at least three millimeters, and in many cases will reach over six millimeters.

Quality is the defining factor in the rarity and value of the finest cultured South Sea pearls. Pearl color and luster are the primary influences on a pearl's quality and value. These in turn are determined by the pearl nacre so, the finer the nacre the better color and luster - and the more valuable the pearl.

Producing quality pearls with thick, high-quality nacre as opposed to "average" or "coarse" nacre depends much on the experience, skills, and farming infrastructure of individual pearlers. As was the case in the days of natural pearls, today's cultured South Sea pearls vary greatly in quality and value from region to region and from farmer to farmer.

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