Article fashion jewelry

Are all Tahitian pearls black? What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl? Are freshwater pearls inferior to saltwater pearls? Are South Sea pearls really golden?

Good questions. With all the different pearl colors and types out there
it can be difficult to know just what you’re looking at. For those interested in buying pearls
or for gem enthusiasts who wish to learn more
here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about pearls.

Are All Tahitian Pearls Black?
Not only are Tahitian cultured pearls not exclusively black
they’re also not grown in Tahiti. Called “black” because of their exotic dark colors
Tahitian cultured pearls can also be gray
blue
green and brown. And they’re grown in the lagoons of small islands that are part of a group known as French Polynesia. Tahiti
the largest island
serves as the group’s center of commerce
and not as a pearl growing mecca.

Tahitian pearls are cultivated for about two years in Pinctada margaritifera cumingi
a large mollusk native to French Polynesia. One of the ways this unique oyster differs from other species is its interior shell color
which is dark. This so-called “black lipped” oyster also has black mantle edges—the “lips” that give this animal its descriptive name.

Today
the most sought-after Tahitian cultured pearls are dark green-gray to blue gray with ros้ or purple overtones. Pearl colors are determined by several factors
including variations in the host oyster
color variation of the implanted donor mussel tissue
the number and thickness of nacre layers
and variations in growing environment such as temperature and water quality. Tahitians are most often variations of gray
black
green and blue
but other colors exist.

At an average size of 8mm-14mm
Tahitian cultured pearls—especially those specimens that are gem-quality and round—are very expensive. According to the latest information from the Gemological Institute of America
up to 40 percent of implanted black-lipped oysters produce a gem-quality cultured pearl
but only about 5 percent of the pearls they produce are round. And only 1-2 percent of the entire crop will result in round cultured pearls of the finest quality. No wonder a Tahitian pearl strand is so costly! If you want to wear Tahitian cultured pearls
one way to do so without breaking the bank is to choose a pendant-style necklace with a single pearl
pearl stud earrings
a single pearl ring
or baroque (non-symmetrical) pearls. These designs are every bit as exotic and a lot more affordable than a matched strand.

What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl?
Natural pearls are formed when an irritant
such as a parasite
makes its way into a pearl-producing animal such as an oyster or mollusk. To protect itself
the animal coats the irritant in nacre—a combination of organic substances that also makes up what we call mother-of pearl. Over time
the layers of nacre build up around the intruder and eventually form the organic gem we all know as the pearl.

Cultured pearls are formed in the same way as natural pearls
with one big difference: they get their start not by chance
but deliberately
when man intervenes with nature. To produce cultured pearls
a skilled technician
called a nucleator
induces the pearl-growing process by surgically placing an irritant—a mother-of-pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue
usually—into a mollusk. The animal is then placed back into the water and monitored
cleaned
etc. until the pearl is ready to be harvested.

The Chinese have been culturing freshwater blister pearls (pearls that grow underneath the mantle on the inside of the animal’s shell) since the 13th century
but Kokichi Mikimoto
a Japanese man
is credited with developing modern pearl culturing techniques. By the early 1920s
Mikimoto was selling his cultured pearls worldwide.

Natural pearls can be very beautiful
but due to overfishing
pollution and other factors
they are a rare find indeed. Thus
nearly all pearls sold today are cultured pearls. There are two main types: freshwater and saltwater. South Sea cultured pearls
Tahitian cultured pearls and akoya cultured pearls are all types of saltwater pearls. Cultured pearls of all types can be found in jewelry stores worldwide.

Are saltwater pearls better than freshwater pearls?
It depends on who you ask
but many pearl experts today agree that freshwater cultured pearls can rival the beauty of their saltwater cousins. Due to improvements in culturing techniques
freshwater pearl farmers are producing beautiful
round
lustrous pearls that are a vast improvement over the wrinkled
rice-krispie-shaped gems that typified the freshwater pearl crop of the not-so-distant past.

Produced mainly in China
freshwater pearls are often nucleated
or implanted
with mantle tissue only (rather than a mother-of-pearl bead). Because they do not contain a starter bead
tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls are 100% nacre. This gives them a beautiful luster and a durable surface that won’t easily flake or peel to reveal the inner bead. By contrast
pearls that are bead-nucleated and harvested too soon often have only a thin coating of nacre that will flake or peel. This is a major problem: Unlike many other gemstones
pearls cannot be polished back to perfection.

Freshwater cultured pearls come in many beautiful natural pastel colors including cream
white
yellow
orange
pink and lavender. (Universally flattering lavender pearls are very popular right now.) White pearls are bleached to enhance their natural shine. Black freshwater cultured pearls are treated with dye or heat to produce their inky color.

Overall
freshwater pearls are more plentiful than other pearl types
thus they are generally more affordable.

Are South Sea pearls really golden?
Yes. Pearls produced in the aptly named “gold-lipped” oyster (P. maxima) can be a gorgeous creamy yellow
referred to as “golden” in the trade. (The silver-lipped variety of P. maxima produces beautiful silver or white pearls.) Grown in the South Seas—which stretch from the southern coast of Southeast Asia to the northern coast of Australia—these pearls are grown in one of the biggest oysters used in pearl culturing. Because they can accept a larger bead and secrete nacre faster than their smaller counterparts
these big oysters produce large pearls of exceptional luster and beauty. South Sea pearls’ thick coating of nacre gives the gems a wonderful luster
or glow
that appears to come from deep within the pearl. The warm waters
abundant food supply and low pollution levels of the South Seas also help these oysters produce beautiful cultured pearls.

Although Australia produces 60% of the world’s South Sea cultured pearls
Indonesian farmers work more with the gold-lipped oyster
and thus produce more golden pearls. The silver-lipped variety produces equally beautiful pearls that come in white to silver and often have ros้
blue or green overtones. Aside from giving them a light wash
pearl farmers do not treat South Sea pearls after harvest.