Eyris Blue Pearls of Christchurch, New Zealand, has developed what it believes is the first color-grading system for cultured abalone mabé pearl. Eyris’s managing director Roger Beattie noticed that he could group the mabés first by their dominant color-green or blue-then divide each group into two subgroups of predominant highlighting colors.

The greens are highlighted by either gold and pink or by blue. Each category-the green-gold-pinks and the green-blues-is subdivided into “brights” and “subtles.” The blue mabés are highlighted by either green or violet, and each of these categories is subdivided into “brights” and “subtles.”