Article by Iris Lee
Tahitian pearls, symbols of luxury and perfection, are long sought for their exceptional beauty and value. Named after the tropical island of Tahiti, they are valued as queen of pearls and creation of the sea. Tahiti’s black lipped oysters yield a unique array of iridescent black, gray and greenish black pearls. Employing Japanese cultured akoya pearl cultivation techniques, farmers in French Polynesia began cultivating large pearls in 1965. Nowadays, Tahitian pearl farming has spread over thousands of miles around this island. Due to Tahiti’s government promotion, demand for black pearls rise 5-10% a year.
Tahitian Pearl Quality
Six factors determine the quality: luster, nacre thickness, surface, color, size, shape.
Nacre Thickness
Nacre thickness is the most important factor when measuring the quality. It determines how long the beauty of Tahitian pearls will last. Pearls with thick nacre will last a life time. French Polynesia Government has set up a minimum nacre thickness of 0.8mm for Tahitian black pearls. Pearls with less than 0.8mm nacre thickness are prohibited from exporting.
Surface Quality
There are four grades to rate the surface quality: A, B, C, D. A quality is the highest quality and they are the most valuable.
A Quality: very high luster and clean surface (one to a few slight flaws are distributed over less than 10% of the pearl surface)
B Quality: medium to high luster and slight surface imperfection (some slight flaws are distributed over 30% of the pearl surface)
C Quality: medium luster and medium surface imperfection (some slight flaws are distributed over 60% of the surface.
D Quality: heavily spotted (many slight flaws or several deep flaws are distributed over 60% of the surface)
Luster
Luster is the best expression of a pearl’s beauty. It is the quality of the light reflections from the surface. Luster measures surface shininess. High quality Tahitian black pearls have high luster and mirror-like finish. Thick nacre results in high luster. Pearls with sharp and intense light reflection have high luster and a metal-like steely look.
Size
Most common sizes for Tahitian pearls range from 8mm to 14mm. Some are 16mm and very rarely over 18mm. The largest Tahitian pearl in the world is 21mm for a round one and 25mm for a semi-round one. The bigger the size, the more valuable they are.
Shape
Tahitian pearls have the following shapes:
o roundo semi-roundo semi-baroqueo baroqueo ringed or circled
Among all shapes, round is the most desirable and valuable. Other shapes may have special appeal to jewelry artists. Round pearls are almost perfect spheres, and they are rare and the production rate only accounts for 5-10% of Tahitian pearls produced each year. Semi-round pearls are nearly round. Semi-baroque pearls are subdivided into four shapes: drop, button, pear and oval. Baroque pearls are described as irregular shapes.
Color
Black-lipped oysters produce the natural black color of Tahitian pearls. Although they are famous for their black natural color, they have a wide range of colors including black, grey, blue, green and brown. These colors are referred as body color. Body colors are enhanced by at least one overtone colors. Overtone colors include blue, gold, silver, pink and reddish purple. Different names are given to a combination of overtone and body colors.
Peacock: greenish blackPistachio: greenish grayCherry: purplish blackChampagne: yellowish grayLavender: bluish blackTahitian gold: golden blackPigeon grey: purplish graySilver: grayMoon grey: pale gray
Among these colors, peacock and Pistachio are the most popular colors. Tahitian pearls with peacock and pistachio colors have a higher value than pearls with other colors.
Buying Tahitian Pearls
When buying Tahitian pearl jewelry, color, quality, size, design, setting, and matching need to be paid attention. Low quality pearls (medium or heavy blemishes) are only worth small fraction of top quality pearls (flawless or very slightly spotted). It is important to ask the stores you shop to provide detailed information on their Tahitian pearl quality.
Iris Lee is a seasoned pearl expert and creative jewelry designer at Premium Pearl. See more information here http://www.premiumpearl-movie.com/, http://www.premiumpearl-social.com/
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