Akoya Overtones

Customer Question:

Hey Ashley,

As for pearl selection,…do you have any advice regarding the selection of silver, rose, or cream?

Her wedding dress is white, not ivory or off-white.  She has brown hair, and a moderate complexion. Is rose typically most preferred?  Would silver match the best with her wedding dresss?  Is cream more versitile? Any advice would be appreaciated.

Thanks again, Eric

Answer:

Selecting the perfect pearl overtone isn’t all that complicated, but let’s quickly run down the attributes of each to familiarize you with them, and then I’ll give you a recommendation or two.

Rose overtones are sublime! The pinkish hue over the white body color of the pearl has traditionally been the favorite of ladies all around the world since pearl culturing began; in fact- Mikimoto Pearl Company is known for their Rose-toned Akoya pearls. The shimmering pink colors add depth and complexity to the surface of the pearls, and the tone is flattering for women with light hair and pale or fair complexions. The warmth and sparkle of the pearls is greatly enhanced with a traditional yellow gold clasp, which can literally light up the complexion of the wearer.

Silver overtones are easily the second most popular of the three due to their brilliance. Silver sparkles with hints of cool blue in the pearls’ surfaces and is the closest to a bright or pure white color. Medium-tone, olive through tan and darker complexions, or even ladies with fair skin but very dark brunette to black hair benefit from the brightness of these pearls. The whiteness of the pearl contrasts beautifully with the deeper skin and hair colors and optically magnifies to make the pearls appear brighter and larger than they really are. Tiffany’s is renowned for their Silver Akoya, and it is a lasting popular favorite. Both white and yellow gold do well with Silver, however I do like to play up the ‘coolness’ of the pearls with white gold accents.

Cream or Ivory looks lovely on everyone, but perhaps most especially red heads and strawberry blondes. With just a touch of French Vanilla, the natural-looking creamy tones are complimentary to a variety of complexions, and they are a classic choice that nearly anyone can fall in love with. Just as with Rose, the Ivory overtone adds depth to the crystal and brings out the luminous glow from within that pearls have traditionally been famous for. I would caution against choosing pearls that are too deeply cream for those that prefer white gold accents, as the clash between cool and warm palettes can be a bit visually jarring, even if the clasp or the posts in the case of earrings will not be seen, the overall effect will be to damp down on the innate warmth of the pearls and mute them a bit.

Of course, there are some lovely hybrid overtones to consider as well- namely Silver-Rose (my absolute favorite!) and Ivory-Rose. Silver-Rose has all of the benefits of Silver – the bright, crisp finish with some added sparkle and colorful iridescence thrown in for added visual complexity in the surface- they are very hard to stop looking at! Ivory-Rose is a gorgeous vintage combination that shimmers with a subtle warmth and color play that looks amazing on a variety of complexions, and retains a very elegant, classic appeal.

For a medium-tone complexion in a bright white wedding dress, I’d definitely recommend both Silver and Silver-Rose as the overtones of choice, possibly with a white gold clasp to continue to enhance the cool palette that will be worn, however yellow gold will work nicely as well- especially if all her other jewelry for the day will be in traditional yellow gold. My professional opinion is that both Ivory and Rose will contrast too much with the dress and look slightly off, color-wise.

I hope this little run-down’s been helpful! Please let me know if you have any further questions- I’m always happy to help! I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon, and have an excellent day!

Sincerely,

Ashley McNamara

General Manager

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