[m4816k]

Various shades of brown (chocollatte, copper...), I know there are treated ones (read about it somewhere), but do they come untreated as well? Are they only available as freshwaters or...?

[Valeria101]

As much as I can tell, freshwater pearl may come in convincing copper tones. And there are very dark brown ones among the natural 'black pearls' - if that's chocolate, think super bitter 90% cocoa, milk free chocolate. I am not sure what species produced those, but there are a couple of pearl growers on this forum that should know precisely

In my opinion, the chances to find a whole strand of freshwater pearls of natural copper color are slim. And a strand of natural dark brown saltwater pearls is impossible: I have never heard of any such strands offered anywhere at any price. Now, I might have missed allot of news; there's an endless supply of pearls out there!

When the treatment for brown 'chocolate' Tahitian pearls was first disclosed a couple of years ago, there was a bit of confusion on the natural/treated status of these pearls and whether matching natural color existed ... you may find references to mysterious, million-dollar natural chocolate strands in older press articles As the treatment became accepted now (i.e. you can still find the brown pearls in every price range, disclosure and all), rumors of natural chocolate color have faded.

My 2c.


PS: I am not taking into account here some freshwater pearls with icky, mustard-colored (to put it politely! ) proteinaceous stains. That's hardly 'pearl color'. Now, everything is a matter of personal taste, in the end. Those things sell somewhere, to some folks... apparently.

[m4816k]

Originally Posted by Valeria101

PS: I am not taking into account here some freshwater pearls with icky, mustard-colored (to put it politely! ) proteinaceous stains. That's hardly 'pearl color'. Now, everything is a matter of personal taste, in the end. Those things sell somewhere, to some folks... apparently.

I heard those are a wonderful match to shopping tv alchoholic diamonds

[Kevin Canning]

I think its safe to assume that most brown pearls are treated to achieve the color. If they aren't color treated then no doubt the seller would be making a very big deal out of this fact, since it would be virtually a one of a kind piece.

[Josh]

M4816k,
I don't mean to speak for others but to me a brown and a chocolate are pretty much the same thing. I assume you have seen the chocolate thread in this forum?
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/sho...8197#post28197