If you are near a Fairway Market, you can find it there.

Pearl, golden, and white seem to be fairly interchangeable terms, referring to any light-colored variety of quinoa. However, I've noticed that pearl quinoa tends to have a shorter cooking time than darker varieties. Alter-Eco's pearl takes 15 minutes, while the red and black take 20. http://www.altereco-usa.com

Quinoa in its natural state has a 'soapy' layer on it, and we're advised to wash it well. Could 'pearled' mean that it doesn't have that?

My understanding is that pearl quinoa isn't pearled. It's just another name for the white variety of quinoa. It's still a whole grain & cooks the same as all quinoa.