What kind of pearls are they?

[Pareltje]

Okay.... I'm usually able to identify the types of pearls but now I'm not sure about these pearls I bought some time ago, when I was a lurker here and not a member yet.
I bought them as Tahitian pearls in a B&M shop. I combined 2 strands together to make a rope.
Now that Fiji pearls are so IN, I started wondering if they aren't Fiji pearls instead of Tahitian ones. The colors are very different from my Tahitian strands I own. Please don't ask me from which farm they come from. I have no clue.
What's your opinion, pearl experts?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Tahitians, I'd say. And beautiful!

 

[Pareltje]

Thanks PD for the identification. Some of them look like Fiji pearls, especially the brown ones, hence my confusion.

 

[jshepherd]

Fijian pearls come from the same shell, just a different subspecies. The primary shell used in French Polynesia is the Pinctada margaritifera cummingi. The shell primarily used in Fiji is the P. marg typica. Both subspecies live in both places, but the typica might only make us 5% of the shells in F.P., while it makes up the majority of the shells in Fiji.

The typica has more of an orange lip, which is why you see such unique-looking colors like the chocolates and the golds. So you will see those colors in Tahitian pearls too, just not as commonly.

 

[Pareltje]

Great info about the oysters in FP and Fiji. This clarifies why typical Fiji colors also occur in Tahitian pearls and vice versa. Thanks a load, Jeremy.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Sorry to post and run before but I had to get my husband the dr. for followup on his finger and had just realized how late we were running!

What I wanted to elaborate on was that I've seen other Tahitian strands with similar colors.

Here are some of the strands as posted on the Pricescope thread about the PP sale in August 2014:
baby nurse's rope: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pp-tahitian-pearls-on-sale.204779/page-16#post-3740079
pkinnew's strand: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pp-tahitian-pearls-on-sale.204779/page-25#post-3749206
dmz's strand: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pp-tahitian-pearls-on-sale.204779/page-22#post-3743936

Hete is my baroque Tahitian strand of pearls from Rikitea:

 

[Pareltje]

PD, how is it with your husband? Now I'm more concerned about your husband's finger than the pearls. Could the doctor reattach the finger?
About the Tahitians, I've seen mostly silver and dark Ts in most shops in Europe until I got to know Cees. In fact a sales person in a B&M told me that the silver ones were the most sought after. Your T necklace is wonderful.
Also, I've never seen Fijian pearls IRL yet to be able to identify an imposter. I see some Fijian pearls on Justin's website and some do look like typical Tahitians. Jeremy's explanations about the species of the oysters make sense to me.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Thanks for asking about my husband! Reattachment was not possible, but I'm sure he will get used to having a slightly shorter finger.

RE: Fiji pearls, I think you would enjoy reading this thread. Note posts 60 and 62 in particular about the oyster and the colors.
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?9990-Fiji-J-Hunter-pearls-Savusavu

 

[Pareltje]

I wish the best for your husband, PD. Thank you for the link.

 

[Katbran]

Pareltje - I love that necklace ! The pearls look gorgeous ! Thanks for the photos ... that's a treat !! And I can see why you were thinking about the Fiji pearls..but I first thought of TahitianPearlBiz because he always seemed to have one necklace on the site that had lots of the tan/bronze/cream combo . He's got one on the last page that's sold and I couldn't grab a link on it. But I've seen very definite cream/bronze/tan banded ones there in the past.
I'm having trouble with his web site for some reason.

PD - Glad your dear husband is doing ok ... what a shocking thing to have happen ! Hope the pain isn't too bad for him .

 

[Pareltje]

Katbran, thanks for the compliment. You got what I meant. Some of the pearls on this strand have typical Fiji colors. But I'm not a pearl wholesaler who have seen and handled tons of pearls to be able to distinguish different types of French Polynesia oysters and the pearls they produce.
More pics of the browns/tans, a few look like the color Justin described as chocolate-kissed color.

 

[Ildcara]

Looks like Fijian pearls. Love the colors.

 

[amti]

I'm not sure what kind they are but they are very colorful and beautiful. I also like the clasp.

 

[Pareltje]

Lidcara, the experts said they're Tahitians, so mystery solved. I've also seen Tahitian pearls which look like real Fijians. It comes down to the species of the oysters where the pearls are cultured like Jeremy said.

amti, yes they're very colorful. The colors pop more and become lively when worn. They look lifeless on the jewelry tray.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Lovely strand Pareltje...although I think they probably have some "life" even on the jewelry tray! The colors are stunning. I absolutely love circled baroques of all shapes because of their color intensity. Yours are a wonderful example...and I absolutely love how they are strung without regard to color...each pearl is so different from the one on either side of it. Just beautiful.

 

[Pareltje]

Haha thanks JP for your sweet compliment. This strand looks pretty boring when I heap the pearls together in a jewelry box, they just look grey. I can only appreciate their beauty only when I wear the rope with a light colored blouse.