American Pearl Category - Black Tahitian Pearl Jewelry

In Tahiti, the story is told of the god Oro, who long ago used his rainbows to visit Earth, giving mother-of-pearl its iridescence and Tahitian pearls their entrancing colors. And so it's true, that Tahitian pearls are not simply "black" as they're commonly called, but themselves rainbows of color that make them such prized possessions today. Though it's true they take their name from French Polynesia's most well known island, Tahitian pearls are in fact not cultivated in Tahiti, but elsewhere throughout the waters of French Polynesia, a collection of islands and atolls in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean.

Tahitian pearls form in the "Black Lipped" oyster Pinctada Margaritifera, almost twice the size of the Japanese Akoya oyster. This warm water species naturally ranges across the central and south Pacific, but its main homes are in the great atolls of French Polynesia. Tahitian cultured pearl farmers generally raise their oysters from young, in specially designated areas, in the lagoons in which they'd normally live. As with all pearl oysters, only those that have reached maturity are nucleated. Tahitian pearls take 2 to 3 years to form.

Compared to harvests at Akoya pearl farms, harvests at Tahitian pearl farms are much smaller, simply because the oysters used to grow them are far less plentiful. Tahitian pearls generally develop a nacre coating 2 to 3 millimeters thick.

These large, dark beauties, are treasured for their rarity and their intriguing, exotic color and luster. The most beautiful Tahitian pearls increase in value, and so, are great investments.

Luster is one of the most important quality factors of Tahitian pearls. Their luster spans the entire range, from high, to medium levels, to low ... yet regardless of which, one should stress luster as one of Tahitian pearls' finest features.

High-quality Tahitian pearls may occur virtually free of flaws such as spots, bumps, pits, wrinkles and rings. As with all pearls with long cultivation periods, Tahitian pearls possess surface imperfections that tend to add to their interest and allure.

Tahitian pearls come in all the shapes cultured pearls are found: "round," "drop," "button," "oval," "semi-round," "circle -- or "ringed," "baroque," and "semi-baroque." ALT: "round," "semi-round," "drop," "button" "oval," "circle -- or "ringed", "semi-baroque," and "baroque."

Tahitian pearls have the unique ability to display a variety of colors at the same time, shimmering about their surfaces in varying shades -- colors such as Peacock, Eggplant -- or Aubergine, Green, Olive Green, Blue and Magenta. The most highly prized Tahitian pearls are those of the iridescent peacock and cobalt blue colors, followed by the rainbows, grays and golds. Other fancy Tahitian pearl colors may range from parchment, to lemon, to a golden-orange.

Tahitian pearls range from 8 to 18 millimeters in size, the average being 13 millimeters. As with any cultured pearl, a fine quality Tahitian pearl may be judged by its quality factor.

For More Detail on Tahitian Pearls go to ‘Learn About Pearl’ Page.