Pearl Color

Pearl comes in wide array of colors from White to Black; you can have pearl of any shade in between white to black. Pearl color is not due to single factor, three factors are responsible for color of a pearl. Body color, Overtones and Orient are the three factors.

Body color is the prominent main color. It depends upon the type of oyster which produces it. For example- black lipped oyster produces black colored pearls. Body color may be anything from white, silver, golden, green, blue or as said earlier Black.

Overtones: Color that appears on top of pearl’s body color is called as Overtone. These overtone somewhat alters body color of pearl, It also add depth and glow to pearls natural color. Usually white pearls have rose pink overtone. It is not necessary that every pearl should have an overtone some pearls does not have overtone at all.

Orient: Orient is usually referred to shimmering iridescence or you can call it “play of color”. It can be a like rainbow or just subtle combination of colors like pink, green, silver and green. These caused by the way in which light is reflected through various thin layers of nacre.

Price of pearl usually does not depend upon color. But presence of overtone color and iridescence makes pearl more valuable. You can choose color that best suited to you.

Always remember few things while buying colored pearls. Always judge them against non – reflective white background, never judge pearls on black background. If possible compare pearl color in different lighting conditions like day light, fluorescent etc. If you are looking for matching pearls then it is better to take those previously bought pearls with you. Consider uniformity of colors. Many pearls are artificially colored by treatments like dying or irradiation. These treated pearls can be easily spot by looking for concentrations of color near the drilled hole.

For more information on Pearl color visit www.orientalpearls.net/colors_pearls.php