Chocolate Tahitian Pearls

[DwightSchrute]

Hello,

I was looking around on the education part of the site for information on chocolate tahitian pearls. What exactly are these? Are they treated in some special way?

Thanks,

Dwight K. Schrute

[Caitlin]

Chocolate Tahitians are bronze colored. They should be natural colored.

Some pearls are dyed chocolate, which fact should always be disclosed and often, is not.

[waimeamomi]

The vast majority of chocolate colored Tahitian pearls are bleached, and than dyed. If they look chocolate brown and are evenly matched with no other colors in the pearls, than you can bet they are treated. In my humble opinion, if you want chocolate pearls save you money and by the color treated freshwater chocolates. Just saying.

[waimeamomi]

And that should be disclosed.

[jshepherd]

Chocolate Tahitians are treated. There are naturals, but strands are very rare and they don't typically have the same solid, consistent color of a treated strand. Also, they are either bleached or treated with dye. The bleaching is a proprietary treatment done by one company in Japan. The vast majority of them are now treated with dye.

They should always be described as such - treated, color enhanced, etc.

[Josh]

And then the question needs to be asked, what IS chocolate color exactly? It seems like the market of dyed (died? lol) pearls has given us a fairly rigid idea of chocolate color. But what about naturals like this one?
Apologies for the shameless self-plug here but I think the question is a legitimate one. Maybe some day there will be an official color chart to refer to for Tahitian pearls. There's one that's been out for nearly ten years but it was done 100% with photoshopped colors, not actual pearls.

ps Does anyone else find that Photobucket dumbs your colors down?

[Ashley]

I was putting together a small selection of natural and treated chocolate Tahitians just last week for a customer looking to match a pair of earrings she had, and the resulting picture seems like an easy way to illustrate the color differences between natural and treated Chocolates. Far Left is treated, and the other 2 pearls are natural color- the very Far Right pearl blew me out of the water with it's layered overtones and surface complexity.

[Caitlin]

That bronzy color is unmatched!

Josh, your ring is exquisite! The pearl is fantastic, but the setting is so curvaceous and lush, it is positively sensuous! Who is the designer? since it is from you, that is a sure sign the pearl is not treated or enhanced to get that melt in your mouth chocolate look! A pearl with Design and impeccable Provenance!

How many of these special, one of a kind pearls, do you need to find forever homes for? I hope people reading this will take a look at a good, honest, adorable pearl farmer's pearls! It's like picking your own peaches from an orchard, only 100 times better to pick a pearly delight directly from one of our hard, hard, hard working pearl farmers!

Also, I want to point out that Sheryl, Wendy and a few other designers here, use Kamoka pearls in their designs. Maybe a few more examples of Kamokas from our designers.... Sorry designer if I did not mention your name. Sarah of Kojima and others who use Josh's pearls- I hope that people reading this realize what a good karma thing it is to buy pearls form a sustainable farmer directly or secondarily.

This is an unparalleled opportunity, for buyers, not possible before the formation of this forum!

Although we are NOT here to promote big commercial pearl sellers of inferior pearls, I personally feel strongly about promoting the efforts of someone like Josh, who, with his family, stayed pure and true to the highest quality of sustainable pearl farming. Josh and Douglas, and now Rusty&Bronwyn are small pearl farmers who do the work themselves and to not to have to sell ALL of their pearls in lots for low prices, but being able to sell some of the best ones directly to the public makes a bridge not seen before!!!

So, buying a Kamoka (or Sea of Cortez) pearl is a special opportunity to directly help and influence the course of boutique pearl farms to hold steady against the giant corporate producers!

"Both/and" is my philosophy, but it's the little guys I think it is OK to shamelessly promote here. I take responsibility for that opinion, Jeremy did not tell me I could say this, I am just taking advantage and doing it! I have come to know Josh and Douglas personally over the years and if I have any influence on folks' buying habits, I am throwing it in favor of these small winery type pearl farms!!!!

[KarinK]

I can only add my approval! I own a strand of near round Kamoka pearls, bought directly from Josh this summer. The debth and colour play of the pearls is amazing. These are indeed very happy, well cared for pearls, and waring them is even more fun as I know the people behind them

- Karin

[KarinK]

PS

As Josh is a lot less outspoken than his fans here, let me say that this post made me check his on-line shop, that has been quite empty for a while - due to the work with the leather jewelry, I think. Well, what do you know! There are two pages of rings now! The chocolate Tahiti among them: http://buy.kamokapearls.com/collections/rings

- Karin

[Caitlin]

Well, the lesson here is, if you want a chocolate Tahitian look in a necklace- go for the freshwater.

If you want a real chocolate Tahitian, think singleton or earrings because each one is so unique.

If you want to support the pearl farmer directly, you will be doing a special thing.

If you want to support the pearl farmer by buying from designers who buy from him, we have more than a few here.

This is an online community, now 6 years old, who have vetted each other, so to speak, by buying from each other now and then, meeting up in various places in the world. We have people who went to Kamoka and worked their hineys off for the farm and reported here. this is not hype. Josh is exactly what he says he is, no hyperbole. By buying from him directly, you really help his cause!

The other thoroughly vetted and world famous pearl farm which is so tiny, Josh's production looks huge- is Douglas' granja, the Sea of Cortez farms. I subscribe to pearlman69 on youtube. Douglas was trained as a scientist and teaches science as his day job. The granja is a labor of love by three of the former students at the Oceanological Institute where the farm is now located. Those pearls are the most rare in the world. They sell only to a very few distributors and keep some to sell themselves.

I don't think they get the chocolate color, though.

[Josh]

Golly, thanks Caitlin and Karin!

[lisa c]

Hurray!!! Lovely to be able to endorse a really wonderful bunch of folks!!!

[waimeamomi]

Caitlin, I think I'm going to have to get to Arizona real soon. Once a year isn't enough. Josh, OMG drool, drool - love that pearl. Here's the previous chocolate pearl thread, although it does (what a surprise!) somewhat divert at the end.
http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/tah...ate-trend.html

[Katbran]

Well I'm going to take this opportunity to jump in and say..check out Josh's online store as he's just poseted photos of his strands! G...wait for it....ORGEOUS!