Almost all pearls sold today are cultured pearls.  Cultured pearls are classified into two primary categories – saltwater cultured pearls and freshwater cultured pearls.  The types of oysters and mussels used and the pearl cultivation techniques are different for each category. Saltwater cultured pearls are usually grown in protected saltwater bays and freshwater cultured pearls are grown in lakes or rivers.

Saltwater cultured pearls are further subdivided into South Sea or Tahitian Pearls and Akoya pearls.  South Sea pearls come from the large Pinctada maxima oyster and are considered to be the rarest variety of pearl.  They come in a wide variety of colors that range from silver to gold to light gray to black.  The gray to black colored pearls are called “Tahitian Pearls”.

Freshwater cultured pearls are frequently irregularly-shaped, which gives them a unique character and originality.

Mabe Pearls are a type of cultured pearl that is assembled from a cultured blister pearl produced by the Pteria penguin and Pteria sterna oysters.  A large half bead is attached to the inside of the oyster shell. The hollow pearl that is produced is then cut from the shell and filled with wax or glue. A mother-of-pearl backing is often added to complete the assembly.

Abalone Pearls are an unusual type of Mabe pearl that is produced by the Abalone, a type of mollusk that has only one shell.  They come in a wide variety of colors that general range from blue to green to pink to red and black.

Keshi or "poppy seed" pearls are produced when the mollusk rejects a pearl nucleus.   The fragments of epithelium may yield baroque-shaped pearls of small diameter which have no nucleus.

Majorca Pearls refer to the brand name for a type of imitation pearl. Majorca Pearls are named after the place where they were originally manufactured, on the Spanish island of Majorca.  They are made by coating the surface of glass beads with a fish scale paste.