Black Pearls Sample

We’ve seen a lot of confusion lately over the web regarding black pearls- which are which, which to choose  and how much to spend on them, so we thought we’d jump into the hubbub and provide some quick and easy to understand explanations and photos to clear up any lingering questions…

We posted this picture on Facebook yesterday for a quick and fun contest – the first person to correctly identify each pearl type in order would be the winner of a pair of 7.0-8.0mm Freshwater pearl studs, and there were a lot of interesting entries, and the winner did get very close indeed! The correct order is: Black Akoya, Black Tahitian, Black Freshwater, Black Freshwater and Black Tahitian. Yes, we threw a trick pearl in there to throw everyone off, but also to show everyone the range of hues black Freshwater pearls are commonly found in.

Black Akoya pearls are most often dyed; their surface colors tend to range from blackish-blue to blackish-green, and are almost always very dark in tone. The dye process saturates the nacre from the outside in, and tends to strip away iridescence leaving the surface a uniform color and an almost plastic-looking shine. Their most common sizes range from 5.0mm up through 9.5mm.

Black Freshwater pearls can either be dyed or irradiated; PurePearls.com offers the irradiated pearls almost exclusively as they’re more colorful. Irradiated black Freshwater pearls can be intensely multi-hued peacock to denim-blue and violet/purplish colors to the intense blue-green colors with shifting iridescence on the surfaces. The two Freshwater pearls in the middle (intense blue-green and peacock/green-rose) are the ones that did such a great job tricking our contestants. Often, there will be little black “specks” visible on the surface of the pearl where the irradiation treatment did not completely cover the surface. Dyed black Freshwater pearls look strikingly similar to dyed black Akoya in terms of color, size and luster- the easiest way to tell the two apart is differences in the shape: Akoya pearls are perfectly round, while the Freshwater pearls will feature slight off-round to oval-ish shapes.

Black Tahitian pearls are the two largest pearls in the photo. Known for their naturally occurring dark shades and big sizes (8.0mm up through 15.0/16.0mm or so), Tahitian pearls are the only cultured naturally-black pearls available on the jewelry market with any regularity. Their body colors range from light Dove Greys all the way through Jet Black, however their most common tones are Dark Charcoal Greys with overtones that are typically Silver or Steel, classic Peacock Green, Aquamarine, Rose and Aubergine. Their lack of any color enhancing treatments means that their surfaces shimmer with subtle to intense rainbow iridescence and display a beautiful, touchable luster.

For more tips, advice or answers to your questions relating to pearls, feel free to visit our Pearl Education Center, or contact the experts at PurePearls.com.

Braided Leather & Tahitian Pearl Choker

At Pure, we like to think of ourselves as custom jewelry specialists; occasionally we think a new design is so unique and cool, we’ve got to offer it to all our clients! This is a replica of my most recent custom design project, done for a client’s 3rd Anniversary. The braided leather choker features three black Tahitian baroque pearls in staggered colors and sizes- and the best part? Each and every choker we create will be a completely unique treasure- absolutely no two will look the same!

The leather strands measure 16-inches to casually drape around the base of the throat, keeping the Tahitian pearls front and center! We also offer an 18-inch length as well. The entire choker is finished with a super easy-to-use Sterling Silver lobster clasp, and the pearls are able to slide around on the leather so you can position them to your liking.  Hope you all like this new design as much as I do!!

~A.

Thanks again! I really do appreciate all of your help.   

When you say that the pearl is “rather intense”, do you mean that in a good way? It doesn’t matter because I’m “all in” with this one. I’m just curious what a “pro” thinks.

I’m excited about the wedding and will let you know what she thinks! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-RT

 

Dear RT,

The thing about pearls is that they usually remain within the pastel ranges of any color chart- that is, their coloration is naturally diffused due to the way that the gem is created i.e. layers upon thousands of layers of microscopic aragonite platelets (measuring in the microns- they are very tiny!) which are basically crystallized calcium (CaCo3), bonded together with a brownish organic “glue”, properly named conchiolin- the resulting structure is similar to that of a very dense onion, although the aragonite platelets are all staggered- like a brick wall. 

The inner “glow” and the visual phenomena of luster and orient are all effects that are caused by the construction of the pearl- how these layers were secreted by the mollusk (which include various factors like the health of the animal, the timing of the harvest, environmental concerns, and water temperature, etc.- it gets extremely involved as I am sure you can tell!), and how light interacts with not only the surface of the pearl, but how it penetrates all these layers, plays and bounces around inside the prismatic chamber of the pearl and bounces right back out again at the viewer. How you perceive these various aspects of the pearl- the sharpness of the luster, the intensity of color saturation, the intensity of orient, etc., dictates how you can talk about them, and review their qualities individually. 

From the attributes that are visually accessible on your pearl, we can deduce that your pearl has a very “tight” formation of crystalline layers- this might be due to the relative age of the oyster, or due to the water temperature during the last few months before harvest… Colder temps will slow down an oyster’s metabolism, which has a direct effect on how quickly nacre deposition happens over the nucleus of the pearl- the slower the rate, the tighter the crystal layers. Japanese Akoya pearls are famous for their razor sharp reflections- the waters are colder than their Chinese counterparts, and it’s also part of the reason that most of the “exotics” like your Tahitian pearl, or the larger White and Golden South Sea pearls are typically described as “satiny”- visually they are pastel(ish), with a slightly fuzzy luster- light sources reflected in their surfaces will be somewhat to definitely blurred for the majority of pearls that are harvested. Very thick nacre layers also play a part here, but that’s another story… 

So, to answer your question, yes- Intense Is Good!! And actually, rather rare when you consider the vast amount of pearls that usually are described in pastel terminology. The pearl you are getting is highly saturated with an intense greenish-blue overtone with a nearly black body color (in itself pretty rare- most Tahitians reside in the charcoal grey to dove grey ranges), with highly reflective luster- what we usually call metallic. 

When you get the pendant, I would highly recommend setting the pearl against a stark white background under in-direct sunlight: mid-morning is usually the best time for a “true” white light from the sun, and take a few minutes to let your eyes soak in the various colors that are playing on the surface- there’s a lot more there than meets the eye! The stark white paper background will enhance some of the more subtle colors not usually picked up by the human eye, and really, just take a moment or two to let the pearl “wake up” and start to sparkle. I think you’ll be extremely pleased with what you begin to see, and sharing this pearl’s secrets with your fiancé will be yet one more wonderful, natural thing you two can share over the years. J 

I hope that this pearl will find a home today! Good luck on your wedding day, and do keep us in mind for the future- I am always happy to hear from returning clients and will do my best to offer you the very finest pearls along with the very best service 8 days a week! 

Have an excellent day, and if I can be of further assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime. 

Very Sincerely, 

Ashley McNamara

General Manager & Gal Friday

PurePearls.com

                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

Great news for all those Tahitian Pearl Lovers out there- our best selling Tahitian Dangle Drop Earrings are back in stock in all your favorite sizes- 9.0-10.0mm, 10.0-11.0mm- and more- in gorgeous, AAA Quality! The new inventory features a large assortment of smooth to lightly Circled, rain-drop shaped pearls with gorgeous, metallic luster and sparkling Classic Peacock Overtones! For funs and giggles I’ve included a quick Dinky Digital™ shot of just a few pairs that we’ve pre-sorted out of this massive lot of pearls- Enjoy!   

 

Classic Silver Round Necklaces and Unique, Gorgeous Baroque Necklaces in every shape and hue have been chosen- from the blackest blacks to the brightest jewel-tones, we’re sure to have a Tahitian Pearl Necklace that is perfect for you! This limited time offer is sure to expire fast- as soon as a certain necklace has been sold, it’s gone for good, so hurry on over today to make sure your dream strand doesn’t slip away for good! See you soon!

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