Black akoya and overtone

[Sheila]

Are there different overtones in black akoya pearls (like black freshwater pearls)?
On pictures I can only see a very dark blue.

Sheila

[Valeria101]

Black is not a natural color of akoya, it is died. Always. So what the overtones are depends on the manufacturer. So far, I've found pitch black, silver gray... bluish, greenish... even brownish black akoya. They all all labeled 'black' so the only way to find various overtones seems to be shopping around.

What the natural (untreated) akoya colors are... is a good question! They certainly aren't born pinkish white - or at least not the majority of them. Think greenish, yellowish and grayish white + lots of bleach, some heat, some varnish...=pinkish and silver white. Some of these natural colors are mighty beautiful - I think (the silver and bluish grays, the cream ...), just that much harder to match and sell then the bleached whites with uniformly tinted overtones. Poor akoya! Not saying that most natural colors deserve to be saved for posterity, no way. Especially if the icky ones tend to prevail with pollution, as sometimes implied by reports here and there.

I am not sure if this is what the question was intended to ask though. Is it?


Natural color akoya - at Joseph Stachura & Co. and at Pearl Paradise.

I believe that white is a posible natural color, just not common (albino or amelanistic mollusks).


This being said, I am not making a case about treatment here. Just trying to count the options.

[GemGeek]

Good thing I don't have $625.00 lying around. That Joseph Stachura strand was fascinating. I blew the photo up to fill my screen. It's really multi-colored. Thanks for sharing that.

[The Pearl Outlet]

One note of interest regarding the multicolor Stachura Akoya strand. The pearls still appear to have undergone treatment (bleaching at least). The colors though, are normal variations of Akoya colors.

[Valeria101]

Aha!

For the benefit of thread clarity, I must say I have no special information about the treatment status of those pearls - aside their appearance and label of the seller that says 'natural color'. I haven' picked them up as an example of Akoya perfection to begin with, by all means.

Terry, what shows bleaching on them?


PS. A vintage Mikimoto pin with colored pearls seemed to fit on the topic too. especially since the good pearls with natural colors are never there; LINK to vintage color.

[knotty panda]

One note of interest regarding the multicolor Stachura Akoya strand. The pearls still appear to have undergone treatment (bleaching at least). The colors though, are normal variations of Akoya colors.

Terry: Can I ask a question re: definition of treatment? I've been purchasing from Stachura for a number of years. I know that when they say natural color, they mean natural untreated color. The only way I would accept that the blue-grey pearls aren't natural untreated color is if Stachura was deceived by their supplier. They are second generation pearlers, so I would think it would be hard to deceive them.

White FWP are labeled natural color as well, but don't they undergo bleaching to enhance their whiteness?

So, that being the case, is bleaching considered a treatment?

[Sheila]

I'm still trying to find out what I think of the Stachura strands. It's ugly and fascinating at the same time.

I was just wondering about the overtones. In black freshwater pearls you can see a lot of different colors when looking at the collections of the Pearl Outlet, Pearlparadise and PurePearls, but their black akoya's are all a dark blue.

Sheila

[Valeria101]

I'm still trying to find out what I think of the Stachura strands. It's ugly and fascinating at the same time.

You've nailed it! The one effect their listings had was to get me looking for the higher quality Akoya with some natural color on them. So far, tough luck aside the baroques from Pearl Paradise and some fantastically expensive, small Mikimoto strands (and even those in picture!). A round through antique web-shops only located the pin linked above.

I was just wondering about the overtones. In black freshwater pearls you can see a lot of different colors when looking at the collections of the Pearl Outlet, Pearl Paradise and PurePearls, but their black akoya's are all a dark blue.

Sheila

There was some discussion about the black freshwaters when some died 'Freshadama' came up around here. Then, the conclusion was that the overtones depend on the die, but also on the body color of the pearls. And that iridescence (orient) survives the dieing. Not my ideas - just a summary. You may find the threads in cause with a search for 'back Freshadama'.

Why died akoya don't have that... who knows... Clearly, there wasn't much color on them to interfere with the die. But orient?

PS. Must add that the 'Frashadama' label does not allow color treatment at all. The name was just used as such in that unique context.

[GemGeek]

Terry: Can I ask a question re: definition of treatment? I've been purchasing from Stachura for a number of years. I know that when they say natural color, they mean natural untreated color. The only way I would accept that the blue-grey pearls aren't natural untreated color is if Stachura was deceived by their supplier. They are second generation pearlers, so I would think it would be hard to deceive them.

White FWP are labeled natural color as well, but don't they undergo bleaching to enhance their whiteness?

So, that being the case, is bleaching considered a treatment?

Sort of a catch-22. Because bleaching is so common in akoyas and freshwaters, it's a "standard treatment". It is assumed, and therefore, not disclosed.

It would be disclosed where it was not standard -- say the bleaching of "chocolate" tahitians.

Weird, I know

[Valeria101]

Sort of a catch-22.

Second that.

I sort of remember that there is an 'official definition' (that no one uses) by CIBJO - where 'accepted treatment' is polishing and sun bleaching. I.e whatever minimum is documented for natural pearls since documented pearling time begun.

Now the 'Chocolate' often come with a strange claim of three parts: that the treatment 'does not involve dies or heat and is stable in normal wearing conditions'. I believe this is all that the original manufacturer of the color would disclose about their secret potion. And now everyone says the same Would you think they might be feeding cocoa to the mollusks or something ?

[jshepherd]

I do not think the Stachura strand pictured has been color treated or gone through a normal bleaching process. But I can all but guarantee it has been treated, but most likely only maeshori.

The multi-hued color combination is actually popular in Asia just in the last couple of months. There have been some Japanese processors mixing "natural" colors together, as well as one major akoya producer/processor from Zhanjiang (Dragon Pearl).

The colors are typically cream to off white, blue-silver, and yellow. Some dealers are even mixing treated colors in with the naturals. Akoya Pearl Company from Kobe, for example, is mixing in cobalt-60 (yes, irradiated) blue pearls with natural yellows.

The "natural-color" pearls are always labeled as "untreated". If you ask directly what has been done, they will usually say just a cleaning or a slight bleach cleaning. What is actually done is "maeshori". This is done to nearly every pearl that enters Japan (including South Sea), and akoya and freshwater in China.

Maeshori should only be a pre-processing treatment as its name would suggest (maeshori is Japanese for pre-processing). But there are now so many maeshori techniques, one really never knows. The common technique I have seen actually tightens the nacre by slightly drying it in much the same way our skin will tighten when it dries out. If done well it will increase the luster. Unfortunately it also accentuates the flaws.

One thing is certain. If the pearls have gone through a factory in Japan, they have gone through maeshori. Also, it will never be disclosed. It is not a "treatment", it is a "pre-treatment". Do you get it...?

[knotty panda]

Interesting. I thought maeshori was only done to SSP. (Or am I having a brain cloud moment and remembering something entirely different?) That particular Stachura strand pictured has been on their shelf for years. It isn't recent by any means. For some reason, their colored Akoyas are slow moving. Personally, I love them and would buy the whole lot if I could.

[jshepherd]

Maeshori is typically the only thing done to South Sea pearls, not only done to South Sea pearls.
It is a treatment which originated in Japan as a treatment for akoya pearls. South Sea maeshori came much later and was applied to South Sea only in Japan (until more recently with Autore in Australia). I imagine the treatment was also applied to freshwater as well for much of the industry's history with Biwa.