Tennyo in the Classic Size: 7–7.5 mm Aurora Tennyo® Akoya

Rare Collectibles · September 2026

Our last Tennyo story was about a strand too large to exist. This one is about the size people actually wear. In September three strands of 7 to 7.5 mm Japanese Akoya came to us, certified Aurora Tennyo® by Pearl Science Laboratory (PSL): the classic Akoya size, at the very top of PSL’s grading.

Tennyo in the classic size

7 to 7.5 mm is the classic Akoya size. It is large enough to read as a statement, small enough to wear every day, and the size most people choose for a first strand or a bridal strand. It is also the size where the trade has the most pearls to choose from, which is exactly why a top grade matters so much here.

Size is easy at 7 mm. Grade is not. Aurora Tennyo® is PSL’s top designation for white Akoya. A strand must first pass all five criteria for Aurora Hanadama®: size, nacre, shape, surface and luster. PSL then selects again, on luster and color alone. A Tennyo strand must reach at least 90% of the highest brightness PSL has recorded and show three or more interference colors, red through green. Few Hanadama strands pass. (Our Tennyo guide walks through every step.)

• 7–7.5 mmThe size most often chosen for a first or bridal Akoya strand.
• 90%+Of the highest brightness PSL has recorded: the luster bar every Tennyo strand must clear.
• Three strandsMatched in size, color and overtone, each with its own Tennyo report.

That last point is what made us stop. A single Tennyo strand is a good find in any season. Three of them, side by side, with the same pink-green glow running from pearl to pearl, take many harvests of sorting to come together.

At 7 mm, every Akoya looks good from across the room. Tennyo is the strand that still looks extraordinary up close.

See it move

Teri, the Japanese word for a pearl’s glow, lives in motion: pink and green sliding across each pearl as the strand turns, and a crisp reflection that seems to sit just under the surface. We filmed the strands in the hand under ordinary shop light, with no filters.

VideoUnedited clips of the strands, September 2026. Tap a clip to play.

Reading the report

Every Tennyo strand carries PSL’s SP-type report, a format used only for this grade, and each of these three strands has its own. Here is what one of them says, in plain terms.

On the report	Reads	What it means
特別呼称 (special name)	オーロラ天女	Aurora Tennyo®, PSL’s top designation for white Akoya
サイズ (size)	約7.0–7.5 mm	Roughly 7 to 7.5 mm across the strand
干渉色 (interference)	ピンクグリーン系	Pink-green: a rose overtone with flashes of green
ボディカラー (body color)	ホワイト系	White
きず (surface)	微	Very slight, PSL’s cleanest surface rating
かたち (shape)	ラウンド系	Round series
まき厚 (nacre)	0.4 mm	Meets PSL’s Hanadama standard
備考 (remarks)	オーロラ花珠の範疇	Falls within Aurora Hanadama®, as every Tennyo must

The report also carries a photograph of the strand’s own Aurora Effect pattern, sealed with a hologram mark. No two pearls share that pattern, so it works like a fingerprint that ties the strand to its report.

Why a 7 mm strand is a collectible

Our 10.5–11.3 mm Tennyo was rare twice over, for size and for grade. These strands are rare for grade alone, and that is the point: at 7 mm there is no size premium to hide behind. Every bit of what you see is luster, color and surface, judged by PSL against the best Akoya it has measured.

Classic sizes can usually be reordered. Classic sizes at Tennyo grade, matched across three strands, cannot be promised from one season to the next. That is why they belong in Rare Collectibles, documented while they pass through our hands.

Frequently asked questions

Also in Rare Collectibles: The Tennyo that shouldn’t exist, 10.5–11.3 mm · Hanadama at 11–12 mm · Aurora Venus® South Sea, 17–18.7 mm.
Learn more: Hanadama & Tennyo pearls: PSL grading explained · What are Akoya Tennyo?