from what i have seen, black non-tahitian pearls (sw and fw) seem to show more variation in the color and overtones than you would see among an equivalent-sized strand of non-dyed pearls. is this simply a subjective thing because of the primary color being black instead of white? or does the dye infuse each pearl to a different degree?

[Kevin Canning]

What happens is the dye gives a lot of the pearls a sort of 'oil slick' look. This is the variation of color you are seeing in saltwater and freshwater black pearls. This does happen with Tahitians to some degree, but rarely are the pearls infused with such a rainbow of colors as is visible in (especially) dyed freshwater pearls. White pearls are typically bleached, and there is still a color variance, although it is not as dramatic as the colors of the dyed strands, but these pearls are matched after bleaching, and each strand is valued for its symmetry of color.

i would assume that lower-quality pearls get chosen for dyeing, to try to enhance their sale price. is this correct?

[Caitlin]

I think your assumption is correct, but pearls are also dyed to meet the demand for the color. Dark colors are "in" this year.

I got some 10mm pearls died dark at the trade show this year. These are huge by fw pearl standards and have very rough skins with actual cracks and holes in the outer layers of the nacre. They would be thrown away, if white, or any other color, but tinted dark gray, they look great! I call them my "Faux Tahitians" and strangers have come up to me in public places and complimented them. They were my biggest hit this year and now the supplier is out.

I figure these are part of the detritus of the grand Chinese experiment to produce enormous fw pearls with a better quality surface.

[purepearls]

Yes, you are correct. Not all pearls accept the black dye equally, thus when light reflects off the nacre layers of the pearls, you see differerent variations of color.

Pearl farmers are definately trying to meet the demand for black-dyed pearls because they are a very popular trend this year. While in Asia last week at one of the pearl farms, I noticed that many of the new lots of dyed pearls were done too quickly and the dye was not consistent on the individual pearls.

Amanda Raab
President