Beyond the Lustre: A Deep Dive into AUTORE South Sea Pearls
Australia has been on my travel wish list for years, so when I finally made it there this August, I was determined to make the most of every jewellery-related opportunity. And in a country famous for its South Sea pearls, that had to include AUTORE. Established in Sydney in 1991, the family-owned company is one of the world’s largest producers of South Sea pearls, harvesting more than 350,000 organic gems a year from its farms in Australia and Indonesia.
Founder Rosario Autore has spent close to 40 years working with pearls, and when we met at AUTORE’s Sydney headquarters, it quickly became apparent that he can talk about them from just about every conceivable angle. His daughter Ruby joined us, and before long we were surrounded by South Sea pearls and jewellery. Together, we compared the many elements that contribute to the beauty of a pearl, including lustre, colour, shape and size.
Katerina with the Autore family, including founder Rosario Autore (second from right)
When our conversation turned to design, Rosario’s wife, Jane Autore, joined us. Together, we delved deeper into the fascinating journey behind AUTORE’s South Sea pearls – from their cultivation and harvest through to the design and creation of the final piece of jewellery.
It quickly became clear that AUTORE is, in every sense, a family business. Rosario and Jane are joined by the next generation, with Ruby, Luca and Alessandro each involved across different areas of the Group. From the source of the pearl to the finished jewel, that shared passion runs across every generation of the family.
But as Rosario was quick to emphasise, the AUTORE family extends far beyond the Autore name. “We are all one large pearl family,” he told me, crediting the company’s achievements equally to the extraordinary dedication, loyalty and passion of its people.
A strand of perfectly matched AUTORE South Sea pearls
That sentiment is reflected in the remarkable longevity of the team. At AUTORE’s Sydney office, approximately 70% of staff have been with the company for more than 10 years, while over 40% have been part of the business for upwards of 20 years. Those figures speak volumes about the culture and philosophy that have shaped AUTORE over the decades. “I can’t thank them enough for their contribution and loyalty to the success of AUTORE.”
And as the next generation takes on greater responsibility within the business, that same enthusiasm is also being embraced by newer members of the team. The passion for pearls that began with Rosario more than three decades ago continues to ripple through the company, ensuring AUTORE remains not simply a family business, but a true pearl family.
Katerina with antique pearl-diving equipment at the Autore showroom, a reminder of the family’s history in South Sea pearl farming
Grading South Sea Pearls the AUTORE Way
One of the first things Rosario told me was just how difficult pearls are to grade. Unlike diamonds, there is no universally accepted system for determining their quality, something he recognised very early in his career. When he began working with Australian pearl farmers in the early 1990s, much of their production was exported to Japan to be graded and sold internationally.
Rosario began working with smaller independent pearl producers, providing a complete service that included washing, grading, valuing, marketing and selling their harvests. He eventually represented 10 independent South Sea pearl producers across Australia and Indonesia and, at the time, was responsible for selling approximately 15% of the world’s white South Sea pearl production by value.
A pearl farming vessel in the waters surrounding one of AUTORE’s South Sea pearl farms
A freshly harvested South Sea pearl being examined by hand
An AUTORE pearl farm worker checking the mesh panels used in pearl cultivation
AUTORE founder Rosario Autore holding a South Sea pearl
An AUTORE pearl diver at work
An AUTORE diver tending suspended pearl oyster panels beneath the sea
An AUTORE pearl diver returning to the surface
AUTORE founder Rosario Autore began his business in 1991, connecting Australian South Sea pearl farmers with international buyers
Within five years, Rosario had established his own pearl farm. That operation has since grown to 10 farms across Australia and Indonesia, giving AUTORE a front-row perspective on an industry responsible for producing some of the world’s finest pearls.
From the beginning, one of Rosario’s primary goals was to educate consumers about the qualities and value of this extraordinary organic gem, while establishing a consistent benchmark by which South Sea pearls could be understood, described and compared.
AUTORE is renowned for the exceptional size and quality of its South Sea pearls, which are graded in-house using the company’s own proprietary grading system
This standard also provided an important tool for pearl producers. By establishing clearly defined quality parameters, producers could better understand how changes to farming methods and cultivation techniques affected the overall quality of their harvests, allowing them to monitor, evaluate and continually improve their production.
That experience would eventually lead to one of Rosario’s most important contributions to the pearl industry. In 2007, he launched the AUTORE Five S’s™, the first comprehensive classification guide created specifically for South Sea pearls. Assessing a pearl according to five characteristics – Shine, Surface, Shade, Shape and Size – gave the trade a shared vocabulary for South Sea pearls, which can vary enormously from one oyster to the next.
“Before the Five S’s, there was no common language for pearls. Everybody had their own system,” Rosario recalled. For him, education was and continues to be an essential part of giving South Sea pearls the recognition they deserve.
Rosario Autore introduces Katerina to the AUTORE Five S’s™, his pioneering grading system for South Sea pearls
Diamonds and coloured gemstones already had established criteria for gauging quality, so why shouldn’t there be something similar for South Sea pearls?
Of the five characteristics, it was Shine that Rosario kept returning to as we compared the pearls in front of us. Shine refers to lustre: the combination of light reflected from the surface of a pearl and refracted through the layers of nacre beneath it. AUTORE grades this from I to V, with the very best pearls displaying a clear, mirror-like reflection. “When you look at a pearl and you can actually see yourself reflected in it, that’s what we’re looking for when we describe a gem-quality pearl. It’s that mirror-like reflection, the inner and outer glow. It’s the soul of the pearl.”
Of course, not every oyster produces a pearl with this incredible lustre – far from it. Rosario wanted to understand why the quality of pearls varied so much from one oyster to another, and whether identifying those differences could improve future harvests.
Katerina takes a closer look at a strand of AUTORE’s white South Sea pearls, which are prized for their mirror-like lustre
The Genetics of a Great Pearl
The search for answers led to a 10-year research partnership with a team at the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Sciences. Rosario was quick to point out that this wasn’t about genetically modifying oysters. By comparing the gene activity of pearl sacs that produced high-lustre A-grade pearls with those responsible for lower-lustre pearls, the researchers identified significant differences. AUTORE could then selectively breed its best-performing males and females, increasing the chances that the next generation would yield top-quality pearls.
The difference can now be seen in AUTORE’s harvests. Around 25 to 30% of AUTORE’s round pearls now achieve an A grade – a “very high percentage”, Rosario points out, and roughly double what he would typically expect. Ultimately, it means more A-grade pearls can be set aside for AUTORE’s own jewellery.
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Those are impressive odds in pearl farming, where very little is guaranteed. An oyster takes two years to reach maturity, followed by a further two years for a South Sea pearl to grow. Everything from the weather on the day an oyster is seeded to the skill of the technician carrying out the delicate procedure can affect the result. AUTORE even tags individual oysters so it can track which technician seeded them and compare their results.
An oyster’s story at AUTORE isn’t over when it produces its final pearl. Nothing is wasted: the adductor muscle is sold as a delicacy in Asia, and you can find it on the menu in some of the best restaurants in Australia. The mother-of-pearl shell, meanwhile, is used for everything from buttons and jewellery to watch dials. For more than 20 years, AUTORE has supplied its Pinctada maxima mother-of-pearl to the same companies around the globe, with the material eventually finding its way to some of the world’s most famous jewellery houses.
AUTORE’s South Sea pearl ring and bracelet reveal how the beauty of these remarkable gems translates into fine jewellery
The Pick of the Harvest
Once a harvest has been graded, Jane Autore, Rosario’s wife and AUTORE’s Creative Director for more than a decade, joins Ruby and the team in getting first choice, setting aside exceptional pearls for the company’s own jewellery. Rosario, Luca and Alessandro, together with the rest of the grading team, might spot an unusual specimen and put it aside for her, or a particular pearl might catch Jane’s eye. Ruby knows this process well. She launched her own spin-off jewellery brand, AUTORE Moda, in 2020, and, like her mother, lets the pearl take the lead. “It’s much easier to start with the pearl and see where the design takes you rather than the other way around.”
Lustre isn’t the only thing the family is looking for. Colour is just as important, particularly the delicate overtones that can give a white South Sea pearl flashes of pink, green or blue as it catches the light. Pink is a particular AUTORE favourite and appears throughout its jewellery. “Every AUTORE creation features pearls with beautiful lustre and beautiful colour,” Ruby said. “We are able to use so many white pearls with pink overtones because we have farms that can produce this quality consistently.”
Katerina trying on a South Sea pearl tassel necklace. The finest pearls from each harvest are reserved for AUTORE's jewellery collections
With first choice of the harvest comes plenty of creative freedom. Under Jane’s direction, AUTORE creates everything from classic pearl jewellery to contemporary collections and one-of-a-kind pieces. Over the years, the company has won 11 international design awards, with accolades at Couture in Las Vegas and Inhorgenta in Munich. AUTORE jewels have also been worn on the red carpet by Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts and Helen Mirren, and have appeared on screen in productions including Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and Sex and the City.
Archival photographs document the history of pearl diving at AUTORE
The World of AUTORE Jewellery
Inspired by butterflies and their symbolism of rebirth, freedom and love, Papillon has become one of AUTORE’s bestsellers. The collection transforms South Sea pearls into jewelled butterflies, framed by delicate wings of diamonds and mother-of-pearl. Ophidia is more dramatic, with sinuous serpents curling around lustrous South Sea pearls, their bodies crafted in gold and set with diamonds and rubies. The collection includes rings, pendants and earrings, as well as one-of-a-kind high jewellery such as the spectacular Enchantress Necklace, set with some of AUTORE’s finest South Sea Keshi pearls.
Katerina wearing AUTORE’s Papillon necklace, with white South Sea pearls and diamond-set butterfly wings in 18K yellow gold, which can also be worn as a brooch
AUTORE Papillon 3-Chain drop earrings featuring white South Sea pearls suspended from diamond-set butterflies in 18K yellow gold
AUTORE Ophidia Enchantress High Jewellery cuff, set with some of AUTORE’s finest South Sea Keshi pearls in 18K rose gold
AUTORE Ophidia earrings in 18K yellow gold, set with yellow diamonds, white diamonds, emeralds and South Sea Pearls
AUTORE's award-winning Enchantress High Jewellery necklace, set with 26 A-grade South Sea Keshi pearls, pink diamonds, white diamonds, rubies, black diamonds and moonstones in 18K rose gold
Among the new pieces I was introduced to were a series of rings launched at Inhorgenta earlier this year, which look to the pearl’s natural habitat for inspiration. Clusters of South Sea pearls sit within organic, pavé-set forms that mimic a Ningaloo Reef clam shell. Seen from different angles, the pearls seem to emerge from within the jewel, connecting AUTORE’s two worlds as both pearl farmer and jeweller.
After seeing some current and upcoming collections – which I can’t reveal just yet – our conversation returned to the red carpet and the impressive roster of stars who have worn AUTORE over the years. Rosario pulled out a brochure featuring more than 100 celebrities in AUTORE jewels, before revealing something rather special: a necklace made for Angelina Jolie. Trying it on brought me one step closer to the actress, whom I dream of meeting one day.
Katerina wearing an AUTORE pearl choker, alongside images of Angelina Jolie in the Australian pearl jeweller’s creations
What It Takes to Build a Strand
Ruby slipped a floral ring with curling diamond petals onto my finger, a perfect South Sea pearl nestled at its heart, before bringing out a strand of Gem silver-pink South Sea pearls graduating from an already impressive 17mm to 20mm. “I can confidently say that I have never seen another necklace like this, combining pearls of this size, colour, lustre, mirror-like reflection and overall quality,” Rosario said. “It is truly exceptional.” It took eight-and-a-half years to assemble, as AUTORE waited for pearls of the right size, colour and lustre to appear in successive harvests.
Pearl strands are something of an AUTORE speciality, and our conversation turned to several others that had been years in the making, including a double-row, gem-quality necklace comprising 51 pearls ranging from 17mm to 18mm. It took more than a decade to find enough A-grade pearls that perfectly matched in size and shape. Ruby also spoke about rarities such as very large Keshi pearls and long oval pearls.
Katerina wearing two exceptional AUTORE South Sea pearl strands, years in the making as pearls of matching size, colour and lustre are painstakingly sourced and selected
For four years, the team set aside every suitable example of the ovals they found, searching through around 1.4 million pearls to create a series of matching sets. Numbers like these gave me a new appreciation for the patience behind the pearl jewellery we so often see only in its finished form.
Katerina trying on AUTORE’s South Sea pearl rings
By the end of my afternoon with Rosario and Ruby, I had asked far more questions than I had intended and could happily have carried on. Even after decades of handling pearls, I came away knowing considerably more about them than when I arrived. I suspect Rosario would be rather pleased about that. He has spent much of his career trying to make South Sea pearls better understood, and he certainly succeeded with me.
WORDS
Katerina Perez Is a jewellery insider, journalist and brand consultant with more than 15 years’ experience in the jewellery sector. Paris-based, Katerina has worked as a freelance journalist and content editor since 2011, writing articles for international publications. To share her jewellery knowledge and expertise, Katerina founded this website and launched her @katerina_perez Instagram in 2013.
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