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Tahiti and Her Islands lie halfway between California and Australia in the Eastern South Pacific. We are 3,852 miles from Los Angeles and 3,541 miles from Sydney. (See map of French Polynesia).
2. What is a "Tahitian Cultured Black Pearl"?
A Tahitian Cultured Black Pearl is a pearl that is obtained by means of a grafting operation performed by a skilled technician on the "Pinctada Margaritifera" or "Black Lipped Oyster" of French Polynesia.
3. How do Tahiti Cultured Pearl's get their color?
The black-lipped oyster found in French Polynesian waters naturally secretes a dark pigment which, depending on the quantity, gives the resulting pearl a basic color ranging from steel gray to black.
4. Are Tahiti Cultured Pearls tinted?
Absolutely not! Whatever the color, it is 100% natural. The pearl may end up being white though most normally, it varies from shades of gray to black, bronze and even greenish or purplish.
5. How long does it take to culture a Black Pearl?
From the grafting to the harvesting of a black pearl, a period of 18 to 24 months is necessary to achieve the desirable thickness (1.5 mm and up) of mother-of-pearl around the nucleus.
6. What is a natural pearl compared to a cultured pearl?
Strictly speaking, natural pearls are those created without any human intervention whereas cultured pearls require human intervention.
7. Do natural pearls still exist?
Yes, in about one of 15,000 pearl oysters! However, it is illegal to dive for oysters for the purpose of finding a natural pearl, as the natural stocks would be quickly depleted.
8. Why are black pearls so much larger than white pearls?
The oyster that produces the Tahitian Black Pearl can grow up to 12 inches in diameter as opposed to 3 inches for the "Akoya" oyster that produces white pearls, therefore allowing a larger nucleus to be implanted. Also, the cultivating time of a white pearl is only about 5 to 6 months.
9. Are black pearls only produced in Tahiti?
The first black pearls were produced in French Polynesia in the mid-60's long before any other neighboring islands. Now however, the Cook Islands and Kiribati now produce about 3% of the world's supply.
10. Where are Tahiti Cultured Pearls found?
They are cultivated in pearl farms found primarily in the lagoons of the Tuamotu and Gambier Archipelagos -- a sprawling group of atolls and islands in French Polynesia.
11. How much does a Tahiti Cultured Pearl cost?
$100 USD for a small pearl of average quality and up to $10,000 USD for a round pearl of perfect quality with a diameter of 18mm.
12. What criteria determine the value of a black pearl?
The main criteria are: size, shape, surface quality, luster and color. The most expensive pearls are rare colored, large, round, free of surface imperfections with high luster.
13. What is the most desirable color?
No one color is most desirable as the choice of color is a personal decision. However, certain rare colors do seem to be quite popular. Among these is the famous "peacock" color, which is a combination of green and eggplant purple.
14. How are black pearls graded for surface quality?
Black Pearls are graded for surface quality (independently of shape and size) using a scale from A to D. An "A Grade" pearl will have minor surface imperfections limited to less than 10% of the total surface; a "B grade", less than 1/3rd; a "C Grade", less than 2/3rds, and; a "D Grade" will have such imperfections on more than 2/3rds of the Black Pearl's surface.
15. What is Mother-of-Pearl?
Mother-of-pearl is the nacreous substance that lines the inside of the pearl oyster shell. Tahitian Mother of Pearl was first "fished" in big quantities more than 150 years ago. The dark color of Tahitian mother-of-pearl was and continues to remain favored by European button manufacturers and the Asian marquetry industry, which produce decorative inlaid mother-of-pearl in furniture.
16. What is Keshi?
Small pearls created by the oyster's premature rejection of the grafted nucleus have been given the Japanese name of "keshi" which means poppies. The very small pearl beads are naturally formed in the soft tissue of the mollusk. Tahitian keshi come in the same colors as Tahiti Cultured Pearls. The keshi are made up entirely of pearly layers and range in diameter from 2-8mm. They are typically baroque in shape and are used mainly to decorate earrings, bracelets, necklaces and broaches.
17. What is Mabe?
Mabe are half round pearls. Unlike nature's accident that creates keshi, two distinct and intentional operations create the pearl variation known as the mabe: First, a semi-spherical nucleus is grafted onto the inside of a black-lipped pearl oyster. After six months the semi-sphere will be covered in several layers of nacre. It is then removed from the shell and cleaned, the nucleus is extracted, the hole is filled and then covered with a layer of polished mother-of-pearl. ???? Tahitian mabe appear in a range of shapes, such as round, drop, heart and baroque. Mabe are used to make earrings, pendants and broaches.
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Moorea Black Pearl
PO Box 583 Maharepa
Moorea - French Polynesia
info@mooreablackpearl.com