| Color is the second
most striking characteristic of a pearl. Color does not enter greatly
into the estimation of a pearl's value because what determines a beautiful
colour is mainly a matter of taste.
Colors of a black pearl are described by two characteristics "body
color" and "overtone(s)". Black Pearls have a wide
range of body colors that are the dominant or overall colour of
the pearl such as: black, grey, silver, blue, green, yellow, purple,
aubergine and brown. Overtone is one or more translucent colors
that appear to lie over the body color. Overtones are not present
on all pearls. Overtone colors include pink, green, blue, gold,
aubergine and purple. Specific names have been given to some of
these color combinations:
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Peacock - green/black
Aubergine - purple or deep pink
Champagne - yellow or gold/grey
Pistachio - grey/green
Fly Wing - metallic green/silver
Lavender - silver or grey/blue
Tahitian Gold - golden/black
Pigeon Grey - grey/purple
Moon Grey - pale grey
Rainbow - black/green/pink or aubergine |
All of the colors found on the interior edges of the Pinctada Margaritifera
shell are possible. Most unusual of all are the light-coloured pearls
that are purely blue, green, pink, copper or gold. It is difficult
to match or make pairs among these very attractive pearls because
they are so rare.
Since we call them "black" pearls, some people expect
their colors to be fairly dark.
Some pearls really are black, however, the color most characteristic
of Polynesian pearls is a greenish black, called "poe rava"
in Tahitian or "peacock green" in English.
Because of the variation in colour and overtone of pearls, each
of which is made by an individual mollusk, it is difficult to match
pearls exactly. Every pearl is unique and even those that are very
similar show differences in colour, lustre, and shape. Strands of
perfectly matched pearls can take years to put together. Equally
difficult is assembling a strand of pearls in which the pearls grade
smoothly from one colour to another.
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