Wiktionary
n. A pearl that has an irregular shape
Wikipedia
Baroque pearls are pearls with an irregular non-spherical shape. Shapes can range from minor aberrations to distinctly ovoid, curved, pinch, or lumpy shapes. Most cultured freshwater pearls are baroque because freshwater pearls are mantle-tissue nucleated instead of bead nucleated. Cultured saltwater pearls can also be baroque, but tend to be more teardrop-shaped due to the use of a spherical nucleation bead.
The most valuable of baroque pearls are the South Sea and Tahitian pearls. These pearls are produced by Pinctada margaritifera (black-lipped oysters) and Pinctada maxima (gold-lipped and white-lipped oysters). Although these are a variety of cultured saltwater pearls, the amount of time that the pearls are cultured dramatically increases the depth of the nacre, and the likelihood of producing a baroque pearl. Most Tahitian pearl farm harvests, for example, produce more than 40 percent baroque and semi-baroque pearls. Western Australia is currently the world's largest cultivator of Pinctada maxima gold-lipped oysters. Tahiti is the number one cultivator of Pinctada maxima black-lipped oysters.
Usage examples of "baroque pearl".
There was a pendant of gold and enamel, with a mermaid made out of a Baroque pearl.
She had been, Asher remembered, absolutely beautiful, like a baroque pearl set in Renaissance gold.
The design was rococo, the overall impression not too dissimilar from a baroque pearl if you ignored the fact that the silhouette was filigreed rather than continuous.
Melchoir, behind him, wore a turban set with a great baroque pearl.
Alex wore a necklace featuring the baroque pearl he'd taken from the neck of the Maduri dragon, and she touched it when he looked at her.
It was a baroque pearl, indented, even lumpy, but with a luster that no years could dim.
The moon stood now over the Binnig Rock, a baroque pearl on the gray silk sky.
The cousin responding with a baroque pearl brooch, Odile must counter with a gold-handled walking stick, and so the competition went on, with gift after gift, finally exceeding the value of the land itself.