Overtones vs Colours

[LeFaye]

Hi all,
I am trying to understand the difference between overtone and colour. As far as I understand overtone refers to white pearls? So you can have white strands with different overtones which will be very noticeable when viewed next to each other but when worn on their own the pearls look white and not coloured? Then you also get FWP which are coloured. In those the colour is more intense and on the neck the pearls have a distinct colour? What about metallic coloured pearls? What is the difference between metallic peach and just peach? Would it be possible to see some pics, please? Just anything you have to illustrate the differences between overtone, colour and metallic colour would be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[BWeaves]

Let's do the easy one first. The strand on the right has colored pearls. Blues and greens, and pinks, and purples. All natural colors. The strand on the left is white akoya, but they have a pink overtone. Many akoyas are routinely pinked (dyed pale pink) because many people find the color flattering.



Here's the white strand from the photo above (outside strand in the photo below), which clearly has a pink overtone when viewed next to my Mom's white akoyas (inner strand) which are very white.



Here's where it gets more difficult to photograph. My Mom's strand on the left, the pinked akoyas in the middle, and my natural white Hanadama akoyas on the right. When I look at them in person I can see pink and green floating over the surface, which is NOT the solid dyed pink of the middle strand. It's hard to capture that in a photo. It's sort of like an oil slick on water. The oil has no color, but you see color because of the way light reflects through the surface of the nacre.





I don't have any metalic pearls.

 

[LeFaye]

Thank you, BWeaves. Very interesting. I cannot see much difference at all between your Mom’s and the Natural White Hanadama but I do know the Natural Whites are stunning with lovely orient from other posters here. Do the pinked ones look pink or white when worn alone?
I am looking for a white strand, possibly slighly creamy in overtone but with a good strong orient.
Another question, if I may. Do you think that the Freshadama are closer to Akoya, in terms of shinyness, or more like AAA FWP? I like the orients on the Freshadama, but I prefer the slightly softer, diffused lustre of FWP to the metallic shine on Akoyas.

 

[BWeaves]

The baroque akoyas, the pinked strand, look white when worn alone. And when they are on my skin, all the pearls look closer in color (because they are reflecting my skin color) than the pearls do sitting in a white box.

I have a strand of Freshadamas, and I find they are a soft white. Very round, but more satiny in texture. Metallic white freshwater pearls are much more shiny and have more of that soap bubble / oil slick look which is very nice, but the pearls are not round. They are often solid nacre.

My Hanadamas are very shiny, and my favorite. If I wear my Hanadamas and my Freshadamas at the same time, most people think the Hanadamas are fake because they are so shiny and colorful, while my Freshadamas look like rather white and bland in comparison which is what most people think real pearls look like. My Freshadamas are not pinked, so they are very white, also. Let me see if I can get a photo for you as a comparison.



Left to right:

Blue, green, and gold natural colored akoyas, with white South Sea pearls, and purple Kasumi pearls.
Pinked baroque akoyas.
White Freshadamas. You can get them with rose overtones, but these are very, very white.
Natural White Hanadamas.

Can you see the slight pink and green in the shadow reflections in the Hanadamas and the SS pearls? Slight soap bubble effect? It gives the pearls more life. The Freshadamas don't have it, and they look flat in comparison. More satiny.

I don't want to knock the really good Freshwater pearls, because they are very beautiful, too. It's just when I put them next to really good akoya pearls, I prefer the look of the akoyas. But I'd rather have good Freshies than bad, dull akoyas, so it really depends on the strand of pearls and the price. I also have old or dull akoyas, and I don't wear them anymore.

 

[LeFaye]

I can see what you mean. I would not say that the Freshadama are flat, just slightly more satiny and not as metallic. I do like the orient on the Hanadama, though. Unfortunately they are out of my price range, so I might go with White metallic FWP, once PP have more in stock.

Edit: Actually, looking closely, the pinked Akoya have beautiful orient, too

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Lustrous as they are, the Freshadama fwp don't have as high a luster as my metallic white fwp, nor as high as my various akoyas. They are lovely pearls but I think you can't really compare the luster of freshwaters with that of akoyas. But if you don't want high luster, they may be just the thing for you.

Orient is another matter. Generally speaking, you are much more likely to see orient with baroque pearls than with round ones. I have a strand of Freshadamas and I do not see orient. But lots of orient on my baroque freshwaters!

Now, overtones. If you look at GemGeeks' natural white hanadama akoyas (which are not pinked, unlike the vast majority of akoyas) you will see pink and blue overtones:
(from her thread about this strand: Hanadama pearls from Pearl Paradise.com

That is an exceptional example of overtones! I see overtones on my baroque akoya strand also. I also see orient-- the soap bubble effect you see in the second photo. These are pinked baroque akoyas from PP, like BWeaves' strand. The orient comes from their being baroque, not from being pinked.
From this thread: Baroque Akoyas from PP April 2015 special

Colors. Freshwater pearls come in natural shades other than white-- assorted shades of pink, peach and lavender are common. These are body colors, not overtones. But some also have metallic luster, and some of those with metallic luster also have overtones! For example, lavender fwp with greenish overtones are not very unusual.

Back around 2011 PP sold what they called "color shifting" freshwater pearls-- the pearls had metallic luster and fancy (unusual) overtones. This was a very labor intensive project that involved Jeremy and one of his employees flying to China and sorting by hand through buckets of fwp to select pearls with these qualities. I have a strand of the pink-peach-gold pearls but they are hard to photograph, and the overtones are subtle and only really show up in diffuse light.
Here is a thread about these pearls: This guy has the goods...
And my own thread about my particular strand, to which others added their own strands' photos:
The color-shifting freshwaters have arrived!

Finally I dug up this thread from 2014 which has lots of photos:
Orient and freshadama/metallic freshwater questions

 

[LeFaye]

Thanks, Pearl Dreams. I better go dig through those threads. I personally prefer the deep nacre inner glow of good freshies to the high shine of Akoyas, but that is purely personal taste. And I do like those White Metallics from PP. I cannot wait for them to get some more in. I love the soap bubble effect.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Another thing...overtones aren't just present in white pearls. Tahitian overtones have a huge impact on the appearance of the pearls in diffuse lighting conditions, and even golden south sea pearls have differing overtones.

 

[BWeaves]

Lustrous as they are, the Freshadama fwp don't have as high a luster as my metallic white fwp, nor as high as my various akoyas. They are lovely pearls but I think you can't really compare the luster of freshwaters with that of akoyas. But if you don't want high luster, they may be just the thing for you.

Orient is another matter. Generally speaking, you are much more likely to see orient with baroque pearls than with round ones. I have a strand of Freshadamas and I do not see orient. But lots of orient on my baroque freshwaters!

Now, overtones. If you look at GemGeeks' natural white hanadama akoyas (which are not pinked, unlike the vast majority of akoyas) you will see pink and blue overtones:
(from her thread about this strand: Hanadama pearls from Pearl Paradise.com

That is an exceptional example of overtones! I see overtones on my baroque akoya strand also. I also see orient-- the soap bubble effect you see in the second photo. These are pinked baroque akoyas from PP, like BWeaves' strand. The orient comes from their being baroque, not from being pinked.
From this thread: Baroque Akoyas from PP April 2015 special

Colors. Freshwater pearls come in natural shades other than white-- assorted shades of pink, peach and lavender are common. These are body colors, not overtones. But some also have metallic luster, and some of those with metallic luster also have overtones! For example, lavender fwp with greenish overtones are not very unusual.

Back around 2011 PP sold what they called "color shifting" freshwater pearls-- the pearls had metallic luster and fancy (unusual) overtones. This was a very labor intensive project that involved Jeremy and one of his employees flying to China and sorting by hand through buckets of fwp to select pearls with these qualities. I have a strand of the pink-peach-gold pearls but they are hard to photograph, and the overtones are subtle and only really show up in diffuse light.
Here is a thread about these pearls: This guy has the goods...
And my own thread about my particular strand, to which others added their own strands' photos:
The color-shifting freshwaters have arrived!

Finally I dug up this thread from 2014 which has lots of photos:
Orient and freshadama/mettalic freshwater questions

Now THAT's a great example. I couldn't get my photos to show that.

I was hoping my new baroque akoyas would look like that, but they are pinked instead. Still very pretty, but not the same look. So even going by pearl description, each strand can be very different. But it's that pink/green soap bubble effect that really gets me every time.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

But BWeaves, mine are pinked too! Here they are with my SSP and metallic white FWP (top to bottom).

 

[BWeaves]

But BWeaves, mine are pinked too! Here they are with my SSP and metallic white FWP (top to bottom).

Thanks, PD. That's exactly how mine look. They look white on, though. So they don't look like pink freshwater pearls, which really are pink. Those SS's are gorgeous.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Thanks! I enjoy wearing them.

 

[Luvglitz]

I can’t express how happy I have been reading this thread. Thank you Pearl Dreams for all the great links to previous posts on this topic.

 

[LeFaye]

My first purchase, from a UK vendor. A graduated Metallic Multicolour FWP necklace. I am really happy with it. The pearls are smooth, look round and have no blemishes that I can see. Lustre is very strong and they display lovely colours of green and pink which my camera won’t show. I guess I would call it orient. I am really pleased. My first purchase from another vendour was disappointing, but these are as described. They were graded AAA, and it is pretty much what I got, I think.

 

[LeFaye]

And another one. Love them! Are they any good?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They look very nice!

 

[JerseyPearl]

Once again, I absolutely agree with Pearl Dreams. Your strand is quite lovely! On photographing pearls, it's best to use an indirect light source. For instance, if indoors turn off the overhead lights and use natural daylight (but not sun beams coming through a window). If it's sunny, make sure the window is covered with a sheer blind so the light is filtered. If it's a cloudy day, no need to cover the window since the clouds are doing the work a sheer window covering does. If you can use a macro lens that helps, but it's not necessary. Also try to photograph them in either a white dish or bowl, or white paper towel or cloth. Your strand is really pretty...I love the retro look that the graduated pearls create. Enjoy them, because really if you love them, they are perfect!!!

 

[LeFaye]

I do love them, Jerseypearl, for a number of reasons. I have never seen Metallics before and I cannot get over how smooth and lustrous they are. They seem flawless, I have been all over them and found two tiny little dimples. There is also a glow, that I cannot describe. Nothing to do with how they reflect the light but almost as if they were lit from within.
It amazes me how the colours shift, depending on the light source. In muted artificial light the whole thing looks like a very homogeneous golden peachy affair but step into daylight and the colours become a lot more vivid and distinct from one another. The graduation is nice, as it makes the back and sides a little more delicate and suitable for daily wear. Finally, seeing all these different colours together has made me realise that I do not want a whole strand of peachy pearls, even though they really appeal to me on pictures. I have fair skin with yellow undertones, and apart from the white it is actually the lavender pearls that look the best on me as they stand out from my colouring the most. I also like the greeny overtone on those more than I imagined I would.
All in all I think this purchase has been a success.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

What size are they (smallest-largest)? And how long?

 

[LeFaye]

Sizes are from 4 to 9 mm, I think. It’s 18” long.