Pearl Colors
Mollusks create pearls in a palette of colors, from white to black and almost everything in between. Pearl color
refers specifically to the color of the pearl's body, considered the fundamental color of the pearl.
Colors generally range from cream, to silver-white, to black. But there are also color overtones reflected across a
pearl's surface. In fact, the color of a pearl more often than not is a meld of its body color and its overtone,
just as the term "white-rose" will describe a white pearl with a rosy-colored hue.
Akoya Pearls
Akoya cultured pearls are white lustrous pearls with usually cream or rosé colored overtones.
These are the classic pearls most often used in pearl strands. Classic Japanese Akoya cultured pearls come in
shades of white, the most valuable shades being rosé and white. The other shades are white-rose, silver-white rose,
greenish-white rose, and greenish-white.
- Recommended Stores for Akoya Pearls (Cultured)
Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls come in various pastel shades of white, pink, peach, lavender, plum, purple, and tangerine.
- Recommended Stores for Freshwater Pearls (Cultured)
South Sea Pearls
South Sea cultured pearls come in shades of lustrous white, often with silver or rosé overtones. They are larger in size than the Akoya pearl and are also used in the creation of fine pearl strands and ropes.
- Recommended Stores for South Sea Pearls (Cultured)
Black Pearls
Black pearls are known as Tahitian pearls, and come most often in shades of black and gray. While a Tahitian pearl has a black body color, it will vary in its overtones, which most often will be green or pink. Tahitian cultured pearls differ from other pearls in one important respect. Yes, they are cultured, as opposed to natural -- but their black color is naturally produced by the oyster, which makes them "naturally black" cultured pearls.
- Recommended Stores for Black Pearls (Cultured)
Which color pearl should I purchase?
Colour does not affect the quality of a pearl, but does affect the perceived beauty of the pearl according to the
individual taste of the "eye of the beholder". Some colors have become more popular than others in particular markets.
For example, white pearls are the most popular in America, while silver are more sought after in Asia.
What color you choose should be based on the personal preference of the person who will wear the pearls.
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Featured
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This Tahitian cultured pearl, 10 mm. in diameter, is beautifully solitaire set in high polished platinum giving an elegant expression of femininity.
From
Mondera
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