Tahitian Pearls are produced in the black lipped oyster called
« Pinctada Margaritifera » in French Polynesian , around the island of Tahiti .
These pearls are unique because of their natural dark colors.
Most « black »Tahitian pearls are not actually black,
but instead they have a multitude of colors.
They are the only Saltwater pearls whose colors vary from white
to dark green, pink , yellow and peacock.
With a dominant color being green, certain color are more valuable than others.
The prices of the Pearls highly depend of their rarity and availability.
   They range from One dollar to Fifty Thousand dollars.
 

Tahitian Pearl Farming

It takes around two and a half years to get a big enough oyster
to produce a pearl .When it is ready the grafting starts .
The grafter gets a donor oyster that is usually chosen
for the beauty of it’s colors.
Then he cuts a small piece of mantle to insert in another oyster 
(The mantel is the organ that produces the splendid iridescence called nacre. It also determines the color of
the futur Tahitian Black Pearl)
After that he inserts a nucleus, which is a round shaped bead made out of an oyster from the Mississippi river.
The oysters are then suspended on long lines in the clear water of the lagoon for about a year and a half as the pearls inside them form and grow.
 Finally the oysters are removed and their pearls
are gently extracted.
The same oyster can be grafted and produce a pearl
up to 7 times. 

         
            Pearl Grading Factors
             

                 Pearl size and diameter:   

  Pearl sizes generally vary from around 8mm to 16mm but      
               exectionally  they can reach 18mm or more
    To date,the record diameter for a round pearl is 21mm
                       and for a baroque pearl is 26,95mm.

Pearl shape :
 Round , Semi round ,Oval  ,Drop or pear , Button shape ,Semi baroque ,Circled and Baroque.

 
      Pearl surface quality :

- Top gemme : Flawless,no imperfections.
- QualityA : Imperfections concentrated on 10% of the pearl surface.The rest(90%) should be flawless.
- QualityB : Imperfections :Flawless on 70% of the pearl surface.
- QualityC : Minimal imperfections :Flawless on at least 40% of the pearl surface.
- QualityD : Flaws on 60% of the pearl surface.
   

           Color :

Tahiti Cultured Pearls offer an extensive array of natural colors .
This is what makes their precious difference.
They generally have a body color enriched by at least
one overtone color.
There exists a wide range of body colors, the predominant basic colors of a Tahiti Cultured Pearl being black , grey , blue , green.
Overtone colors are pink , blue , gold , silver and a reddish purple.
These overtones may be present in a variety of combinatins and are considered a plus factor. Specific names are given to those colors :
« Peacock »greenish-pink , « Cherry or Aubergine »pinkish-black ,
« Champagne » yellowish-grey , « Pistachio »greenish-grey ,
« Lavender »purplish-black , « Tahitian gold » golden black ,
« Pigeon grey » :bluish grey , « Silver » grey.

        Luster :       Very high, High ,Soft ,Dull=rejected

        Nacre thickness :        Thick or thin