Every month has a slew of ‘celebrations’ going on, according to official calendars. Some are very serious and command reverence, such as Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month, while others inspire nothing but a few guffaws and can’t be taken seriously like National Prune Breakfast Month (January) and National Raisin Bread Month (December).

One such monthly spotlight that all fashionistas can take seriously is June, which is National Pearl Month. In honor of this classic orb of the sea, we decided to give a small tribute to the different types of pearls and let you decide your favorites, and how to celebrate the fact that it is their month.

The classic Akoya pearls are the ones that you are likely most familiar with. They come in a variety of colors including white, cream, pink, green, silver, and gold.

South Sea cultured pearls are similar to Akoyas but much larger. They also have a golden hue (shown here) that is very rare and extraordinarily sought after.

Freshwater cultured pearls have a very distinctive hue but are not nearly as valuable as saltwater pearls. However, they are gorgeous and a great budget substitute.

Conch pearls have a pink hue and are very pretty. They remind us of jelly beans and come only from the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding waters.

And of course, no primer on pearls would be complete without a picture of our favorite pearl-wearing icon of all time, Jackie O.