Thursday 2 October 2008

Choosing Tahitian Pearl Necklace

Choosing Tahitian Pearl Necklace

TAHITIAN PEARLS are generally grown in the clear, warm waters of French Polynesia. They are grown in the large black-lip oysters found there. Tahitian pearls are rarer than other types of pearls, since only a small number of oysters survive to produce a fine Tahitian pearl. Since each Tahitian pearl is very unique and does not look like any other, it takes hundreds of Tahitian pearls to find the matching ones required to make a single strand.
Tahitian pearls come in a spacious range of shades and colors, so you can pick a Tahitian pearl necklace that suits with your complexion and skin tone. Tahitian pearls are available in gunmetal gray, black, silver, blue, brown, pink, peacock green and many colors. So, every woman can choose a Tahitian pearl necklace that goes well with her body color. For example, if you have a rosy pink complexion, you can choose a pure black or grey pearl. On the other hand, a purple or blue pearl necklace looks fantastic on olive skin.

Tahitian pearls are costlier than the other pearls as matching the different hues of these pearls requires expertise. If you are particular about your appearance and desire a fashionable look, then you can buy yourself a necklace with drops of exquisite Tahitian pearls. Even you can choose a black pearl studded with other precious or semi-precious stones to make a style statement.
Nowadays, the most wanted after color of these pearls are dark green gray and blue gray. The color and luster of Tahitian pearls depend on various factors like thickness of nacre layer, growing environment and the temperature. The black pearls that are round in shape and contain quality gems are very expensive as they are rare. However, the price factor never hindered the popularity of these black gems.
Black Tahitian pearls necklace are admired by everybody, from housewife to Hollywood actresses. Tahitian pearls can make anyone passionate with their glossy shine and warm looks. Pearls don't have to be old-fashioned; they are ever green and last forever. Tahitian pearl necklace is among the sexiest and most impressive jewelry items a woman could own. So if you're looking for unique pearl jewelry with exceptional value, Tahitian pearl jewelry may be what you're looking for.

Choosing Tahitian Pearl Necklace

Wednesday 10 September 2008

How to Choose a Pearl Necklace for Your Wedding Day

The elegant beauty of a strand of pearls has fascinated brides for centuries. People believe that wearing pearls on their wedding day will bring bliss to their marriage.

Pearls are classic wedding jewelry. How do you choose that perfect pearl necklace?


Here are some tips:


There are four types of pearls:Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, SouthSea pearls, and freshwater pearls. Akoya, Tahitian and South Sea pearls grow in oceans. They are more valuable than freshwater pearls for their rarity and high luster.


Akoya pearls are the most popular. These pearls are valued for their rich color, mirror-like finish,and appealing roundness.


As with any other gemstones, the value of pearls is determined by their quality.


A pearl’s quality can be A, AA, AA+, AAA, AAA+. The last two, AAA and AAA+ pearls, have the best quality and they are most valuable. For pearls of the same size, an ‘A’ quality pearl necklace costs only a small fraction of AAA quality pearl necklace.


The quality and value of pearls are based upon six criteria: luster, nacre, surface, color, shape, size and matching. The educated buyer uses his or her preferences to decide which criteria are most important.

Nacre: Most buyers of pearl jewelry pay most attention to the pearls' nacre thickness. Nacre is the coating that a pearl oyster produces to cover the pearl’s nucleus; it is the key to how long pearls last. You should look for pearls with nacre thickness over 0.4mm.

Luster and Surface: Luster is the amount of light reflected from the pearl's surface. A strand of pearls with high luster, mirror finish and clean surfaces is most desirable and valuable.

Color: It is a personal choice. Consider buying a pearl necklace whose color will complement your clothing and your skin tone.

Size: The price of pearls that are larger than 7mm varies greatly. People usually buy the largest pearls they can afford.

Shape: Round pearls are most desirable and valuable.


Matching: For a pearl necklace or bracelet, matching refers to the ways in which all of the pearls are similar. It is difficult to find enough identical pearls to make a well-matched pearl necklace; therefore such a necklace commands a top price.

After you have decided the type, color, size and quality of pearls that you want, think about your budget. Take your time to shop around and find that perfect pearl necklace for your wedding day!


Provided by
Premiumpearl.com.

About PremiumPearl.com:
PremiumPearl.com specializes in quality cultured pearl jewelry including pearl necklaces, pearl earrings, pearl bracelets and Tahitian pearl pendants.

HOME::Shopping-and-Product-Reviews/Jewelry-Diamonds X Black Tahitian Pearl Earrings are a Woman's Best Friend By Nathalie Fiset Platinum Quality

Another name for Black Pearl is the Tahitian Pearl. The story behind the name is the way how the pearl is produced. It is made from the large, black lipped pearl oyster that is called the Tahitian black pear oyster. This mollusk is located in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Tahiti is popular for its crystalline and tranquil waters coaxing tourists to visit their shores for a well-deserved break. The beautiful islands surrounding the grounds add up to the rarity of the black pearl produced by the black-lipped oyster.

Historically, the first pearl farms that started searching for Tahitian pearls are located in Hikueru in the 1960s. Hikueru is the island in Bora Bora. Successful harvests then led to the exports of Tahitian Black Pearls from 1965 until 1972. Hikieru was notorious for their production of these precious materials.

Tahitian Pearls reached neighboring islands like Mangareve and Marutea Sud. The high demand for the Tahitian Pearl only motivated pearl farmers to get more.

Tahitian Pearls are usually slightly gray. Some are bluish black. But because Tahitian Pearl is for anyone who likes precious gems, stores selling this kind of stone offers a wide selection of unique designs.

Now everybody wants a good story. According to legend, the Tahitian Black Pearl came down from heaven in the form of a drop of water. The drop water fell into the sea which headed straight to the inside of an open shell. It was breeding period. The quality of each Tahitian Black Pearl depends on the dew that fell into the particular share.

If the rain was pure, the pearl was lustrous. If it dull, then it didn’t rain. If it’s merely cloudy then the color of the Tahitian pearl is spoiled. Lighting and thunder were also factors in the cultivation of the Tahitian Pearl. Lighting stunts the growth while thunder can cause the shellfish to miscarry and produce hollow husks instead of precious pearls.

Poets from the Orient believe that every sixteenth day of the Nisan month each year, the pearl oysters rise up above the sea. Their shells open up in order to get raindrops falling from the skies above.

The poet Sadi wrote in an interesting fable that a drop of water fell from a cloud into the sea one day. It felt confused and at the same time ashamed because it was set side by side with an immense body of water. It believed that its existence is nothing compared to the boundless abyss. Then to its surprise, it blossomed in the bosom of the pearl-shell and became a magnificent black pearl. Later on, it donned the crown of a king.

That’s why Oriental people consider the Tahitian pearl so precious because of the legend connected to it. The story mentioned above shows a lesson that by being humble one can gain exaltation.

But in reality, Tahitian pearls can be cultivated. When a pearl is said to be cultivated, human beings assisted in creating such an organic gem. True that each pearl begins as a piece from the mollusk or oyster but once the nacre kicks in and forms layers after layer, then the pearl is produced later on.

Black Tahitian pearl earrings are magnificent creation and has become to be the most popular pearl in the world. These earrings are luminous and are celebrated for their rich, deep colors. Amazingly, they have a perfect spherical shape.

Pearl experts know that obtaining a spherically perfect pearl is a rarity for pearl farmers. The closest to it being a perfect circle, the more valuable the pearl. As for black Tahitian pearl earrings, a majority of them have perfect spherical shapes. That is exactly the reason why these make the wearer stand out when in a crowd. Black Tahitian pearl earrings are simply exquisite.

In fact, lately, Tahitian pearl earrings have become a fabulous hit to women, that it is not only produced in black. Other manufacturers sell white gold Tahitian cultured pearl earrings which is also considered to be a rarity and a precious jewelry to possess.

Some Tahitian pearl earrings include white gold karat making them more expensive than the average pearl.

Since it is already Christmas, why not add black Tahitian pearl earrings on your list. One special lady must deserve that great gift.

Thursday 4 September 2008

Tips on Choosing Tahitian Pearl Necklaces

Tahitian pearls are named after the island of Tahiti and they are highly prized for their beauty and the unique charm of their darker tones, thanks to the island’s black-lipped oysters that produce black, gray and green-black pearls. Recognizing their value, pearl farmers used the pearl culturing techniques pioneered by the Japanese to cultivate Tahitian pearls. Since then, Tahitian pearls have become one of the most sought-after gems in the world.

Factors to consider when choosing quality Tahitian pearl necklaces, in order of importance:

Nacre thickness – ideally, the minimum thickness of nacre in Tahitian pearls is 0.8 mm. A thicker nacre covering means that the pearl’s luster will last long. Thinner nacres have a tendency to wear off easily. Tahitian pearls which are thinner than the required minimum are not exported from French Polynesia.

Surface texture and quality – Tahitian pearls, like all pearls, are graded according to the quality of its surface. Pearls could have thick nacres but if the surface is flawed, their value decreases. Flaws include bumps, spots, discolorations, scratches and other irregularities. The more a pearl has, the less valuable or lower-grade it becomes.

To rate the quality of Tahitian pearls, jewelers use a grading system, consisting of A, B, C and D as the marks, with A-grade pearls being the highest quality. A-grade pearls have the cleanest, nearly flawless surface, virtually free of spots, discoloration or bumps. These pearls have a high luster and reflective quality.

B-grade Tahitian pearls have slightly (but still imperceptible) imperfect surfaces, with only 30% of the surface affected by flaws. C-grade Tahitian pearls have medium luster and imperfections are already quite perceptible while D-grade pearls are those with 60% of its surface affected by quite obvious imperfections, including scratches.

Luster – one quality of pearls that sets it apart from other gemstones is its unique brilliance. As opposed to other gems like the diamond, for example, pearls shine with a softer light. And since they reflect light, they also look like mirrors, reflecting everything in their immediate surrounding.

Generally, the thicker the nacre, the more brilliant and mirror-like the shine. Good quality pearls are clear and almost metal-like in their sheen.

Size – the largest Tahitian pearl ever produced is 25mm, although this in not a round pearl. The largest round Tahitian pearl is at 21mm. Generally, the bigger the size of the pearl, the higher its value is. Most Tahitian pearls are in the range of 8 to 14mm, although a few are measured at 16mm.

Shape – pearls follow the shape of the irritant or nucleus that enters the mouth of the oyster or mollusk that produces it. But to meet jewelry standards, most pearls are produced following three major categories: round or spherical, symmetrical and baroque.

Spherical pearls are those that are round or nearly round. A perfectly round pearl, whether natural or cultured, is quite rare and therefore highly prized. Spherical pearls are the most familiar and popular shapes. Nearly-round pearls are categorized as sphericals, although they may be slightly elongated or flattened.

Symmetrical pearls are so-called because if you cut one in half, each piece will mirror the other. Included in this category are oval pearls, which taper at the ends and are wider at the center; button pearls, which are slightly more flattened and often used for earrings; and drop pearls, which look like teardrops or pears, usually included in jewelry as pendants.

Baroque pearls may also be semi-baroque and include all other shapes that cannot be classified as either spherical or symmetrical. These are the favorite pearls of artists because of their irregular shapes. Baroque pearls may resemble sticks, studs and even crosses.

Other notable variations in Tahitian pearls are those that have ‘rings’ – tiny grooves that encircle the pearl’s surface. For this reason, these pearls are called circled or ringed, although this quality is only used as a descriptive device, to distinguish one pearl from another. For example, a ringed pearl may be described as a ‘ringed oval’ or ‘circled drop’.

Color – when Tahitian pearls are mentioned, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is black pearls although they do come in other colors, albeit in darker tones. Some of their interesting colors are gray, green, brown and blue.

The pearl’s color is determined by two things: the main body color and its overtone. A pearl can have one or more overtones. The main body color is the predominant color of the pearl while the overtone is the hint of iridescent color that is seen on top of the body color and can affect or enhance the dominant color of the pearl. Pink, gold, blue, silver and purple are some of the most common overtones.

A combination of the body color and overtone is used to describe a pearl. For example, a greenish black pearl is called a peacock while a yellowish gray is called a champagne.

When buying Tahitian pearl necklaces, keep the above considerations in mind. Aside from quality, you might also want to consider design and setting. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and information in detail. If the jewelry shop is reputable, they will be more than glad to answer your questions.

On your own, shopping for real Tahitian pearl necklaces can be quite a challenge. To help you make your decision, here are a few tips on real Tahitian pearls:
- they have overtones over the main body color. Fake or imitation pearls don’t and their color looks flat. Real Tahitian pearls also glow with a faint reddish color when examined using crossed filters.

- Tahitian pearls feel cool, although they do adapt to your body temperature. Imitation pearls maintain the same temperature as their surroundings, so when they are touched for the first time, they won’t feel cold.

- To test for real Tahitian pearls, hold them in the palm of your hand and take note of their weight. They are heavier than imitation pearls. If you rub Tahitian pearls across your teeth, they will feel grainy or coarse and not smooth. Their holes are also smoother around the edges.

Nathalie Fiset - EzineArticles Expert Author