Tahitian Black Pearls another popular member of the saltwater pearl family. Unlike the Akoya and South Sea saltwater pearls, Tahitian Black pearls are cultured in the black-lipped oyster (Pinctada margaritifera), the largest member of the pearl producing oyster family. The oyster itself is can grow to be up to 1 foot across and weighing in at over 10 pounds. The relatively large size of the oyster often results in much larger than average pearls, with sizes ranging from 8 to 14 mm. Further, the pearls are unique because of their natural dark colors owing to their name “black.” However, the name is somewhat of a misnomer since most "black" Tahitian pearls are not actually black. Instead, the majority of the Tahitian Black pearls are gray, silver, charcoal, or shades similar those. Other popular but more colors are copper, pistachio, taupe, peacock, aubergine, steel gray, olive, and sea green. Tahitian pearls are often accentuated with a beautiful array of colorful overtones. Truly black pearls are extremely rare and are highly sought after in the world markets.
Another misconception about Tahitian pearls is that they are harvested in the waters off Tahiti. Tahiti is only the commercial center and trading hub for the bulk of the industry, with no actual farms located on the island. The farms are, in fact, scattered throughout French Polynesia and to a lesser extent, the Micronesian Islands. Tahitian pearl farming can trace its origins to the 1960’s and specifically to Jean-Marie Domard. Following in the tradition of the Mikimoto cultured pearl techniques, he began experimenting with the Pinctada margaritifera using Japanese culturing techniques. After a few years of failed attempts, in 1965 Domard successfully harvested approximately 1000 high quality Tahitian pearls. This harvest was the result of nucleating 5000 oysters and waiting for 3 years.
Seeing the success of Domard’s efforts, two brothers from the Minihi Atoll in French Polynesia opened the first Tahitian pearl farm only a year after Domard’s hallmark harvest. They started conservatively, only attempting to produce mabe pearls, which are nucleated against the mother-of-pearl inner shell of the oyster. By 1968 they had switched entirely to implantation in the gonad of the oyster, which was known to produce the finest round pearls in the Akoya pearl nucleating process.
The Pinctada margaritifera is an extremely sensitive oyster during the nucleating and culturing process, which results in the highest mortality rate among any cultured pearl mollusks. This high mortality rate and the lengthy formation time period for the pearl makes these relatively large and high-quality pearls the rarest among the developed pearl farming markets. Further, the true black Tahitian pearls are among the most exotic and sought after pearls the world over. The Black Tahitian pearl is only perhaps outranked in rarity and desire by that of the South Sea Pearl.
From the Land
From the Sea
Jeweled Fusion
We cordially invite you to Experience Jeweled Fusion of Land and Sea where we combine shimmering precious and semi-precious gemstones with lustrous pearls and keshi pearls to create exquisit handmade designer jewelry.
