Pearl Color Defined
Pearls come in a wide variety of colors, ranging from white all the way to black. Here again (as with many of the characteristics of pearls), the fact that the pearl is an organic gemstone, formed within a living creature, contributes to the myriad unique ways in which its coloration can develop.
Bodycolor
Overtones
Pearl Orient
One rule of thumb in spotting treated pearls is that if the pearls are not true Tahitian pearls, from Black Lip pearl oysters (Pinctada margaritifera & Pinctada mazatlanica) or Rainbow Lipped Oysters (Pteria sterna), they are not natural black pearls.
New Pearl Colors Discovered for Freshwater Pearls
In the 1930s, freshwater pearls from Japan's Lake Biwa introduced a wide variety of new colors to the pearl market, colors which were previously unavailable in Akoya saltwater pearls.
Today, Chinese freshwater pearl farmers have continued this trend with many fancy-colored pearls harvested in large numbers.
Related Articles and Forum Threads:
- A pearl's color is described as a combination of its bodycolor and its overtone.
- Bodycolor is separated into two categories: cool hues and warm hues.
- Cool hues range from reddish purple to yellowish green while warm hues range from purplish red to greenish yellow.
- Overtones are the overlying color that appears to float over the surface of the pearl.
Pearls come in a wide variety of colors, ranging from white all the way to black. Here again (as with many of the characteristics of pearls), the fact that the pearl is an organic gemstone, formed within a living creature, contributes to the myriad unique ways in which its coloration can develop.
Bodycolor
- The natural color of a pearl results from a combination of several factors.
- The pearl's bodycolor is its main color.
- This can be white, silver, gray, cream, gold, green, blue, or even black.
- The bodycolor is determined by the type of oyster or mollusk that produces the pearl (certain species of oysters produce pearls of certain colors), the mollusk's age and health, as well as water conditions and even the grafter's technique used for the pearl's creation.
- Overtones are translucent colors, which sometimes appear on top of the pearl's main bodycolor.
- These overtones tend to alter the bodycolor somewhat, as well as adding depth and glow.
- A pearl may be white with rosé overtones, for example. Some pearls have no overtones at all.
Pearl Orient
- The term orient refers to the shimmering, iridescent colors, which appear to move and glitter when the pearl is turned.
- This phenomenon is caused by light interference, due to the way light is reflected and scattered by the millions of thin layers of nacre, which make up the pearl.
- It is important to note that many pearls are artificially colored. This is widely practiced with freshwater, akoya, and at times Tahitian pearls.
- The colors are artificially infused by a treatment known as dyeing, or by subjecting the pearls to irradiation.
- These treated colors are typically easy to spot by a trained observer who may peer down the drill hole looking for concentrations of color, which indicates the presence of dye, or a darkened pearl nucleus, which indicates radiation treatment.
One rule of thumb in spotting treated pearls is that if the pearls are not true Tahitian pearls, from Black Lip pearl oysters (Pinctada margaritifera & Pinctada mazatlanica) or Rainbow Lipped Oysters (Pteria sterna), they are not natural black pearls.
- The dark color of black pearls is due to the large concentration of Melanin, a common animal pigment that gives this color to skin, nails, feathers, shell and pearls. The higher the concentration of melanin, the darker the pearls are. White pearls do not have melanin, so they are the equivalent of an Albino.
- Natural black akoya and freshwater pearls do not exist, and if black pearls of this variety are offered for sale, they will always be dyed. Many unwary consumers buy these "black pearls", only to find later that the "natural black color" grading is false.
New Pearl Colors Discovered for Freshwater Pearls
In the 1930s, freshwater pearls from Japan's Lake Biwa introduced a wide variety of new colors to the pearl market, colors which were previously unavailable in Akoya saltwater pearls.
Today, Chinese freshwater pearl farmers have continued this trend with many fancy-colored pearls harvested in large numbers.
Related Articles and Forum Threads:
- Video: Natural Pearl Colors vs Dyed
- Pearl Quality Factors
- Pearl Treatments
- Pearl Colors
- Pearl Nacre
- Pearl Luster
- Pearl Matching
- Pearl Surface
- Pearl Shapes
- Pearl Sizes
- Pearl Weight
- Imitation or Faux Pearls
- Selecting a Strand of Pearls
- Tahitian and South Sea Grading
- Black Akoya Pearls
- Faux South Sea Pearl Colors
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