Part 5 - Colors

Generally the darker the Tahitian black pearl, the more valuable it is. The finest black pearls also have a green overtone that is called "peacock green". A solid black pearl with no overtone is considered undesirable and may cost as much as 50% less than one of similar quality with green overtones. Pearls with muddy colors are also viewed as undesirable.

Other overtone colors on black pearls are pink, blue, gold, silver and a reddish purple called "aubergine", which is French for the word eggplant. These overtones may be present in a variety of combinations and are considered a plus factor.

Black pearls also have a wide range of body colors, the predominant basic color of a pearl--black, gray, blue, green and brown.

What Causes Pearl Color?

A lot of pearl farmers wish they had the full answer to that question. Then they could control the color of the pearls they cultivate. As it is, they have only part answers or clues, which include the following:

The type of host oyster. Oysters vary in their potential to produce certain colored pearls. For example, black pearls are cultivated in the black-lipped oyster because other oysters do not produce pearls of the same type. Even though pearl farmers know the black-lipped oyster is essential to the cultivation of Tahitian black pearls, they don't know yet how to consistently make it produce a specific color. The pearl may end up being white or a variety of shades of gray as well as black, bronze, greenish or purplish.

The quality of the nacre. If the nacre is very thin, the color will look milky and lack overtone tints. Besides being affected by the number of layers of nacre, pearl color is affected by the thickness of each layer.

The environment they are grown in. It's theorized that there may be trace elements in the water that affect the color.

The color of the tissue that is inserted with the bead nucleus. This involves the color of tissue from another oyster's mantle (the part of the oyster that secrets pearl nacre) that has to be implanted with the shell bead for a cultured pearl to grow.

What Color is Best for You?

Most pearl experts agree that a buyer's color choice should be primarily based on what will look good on the person who will wear the pearls. Some sales persons, however, give color advice by suggesting what's popular in specific geographical areas.

But you will also want to know how the color affects the price of pearls.

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