Pearls come in various colors depending on factors such as the type of oyster, thickness of nacre layers, and trace elements in the oyster’s environment. The color of a pearl is a combination of base color, overtone, and iridescence. Thicker nacre results in richer color and more iridescence. Uniformity of color makes pearls more valuable, and personal preference and regional preferences can affect price.
Pearls come in a variety of colors and shades, from white, cream, and pink to black with blue, green, or purple undertones. Many factors are responsible for the color of a pearl, but for the most part it depends on chance. A black lipped oyster does not usually create a white pearl, and it is very rare for other oysters to produce a black pearl. Other than that, however, there is little certainty about the color of pearls you can expect to harvest from certain oysters or certain areas.
The material that makes up a pearl, known as nacre, is secreted by the oyster in response to an irritant within the shell. Natural pearls are extremely rare and expensive and consist of concentric layers of nacre around a possibly microscopic original irritant, such as a piece of sand. Cultured pearls are made by inserting a shell core, typically perfectly round, and allowing a few layers of nacre to form around it.
Factors that contribute to a pearl’s color include the type of oyster, the thickness and number of nacre layers, and possibly trace elements in the oyster’s aquatic environment. A pearl maker can also influence pearl color to some degree by introducing tissue from another oyster into the host oyster along with the shell core. The color of a pearl is determined by a combination of factors: the base color, the overtone, and the iridescence. Cultured pearls are also sometimes dyed.
The thicker the nacre, the richer the color of the pearl and the more iridescent it will show. Thin nacre tends to be a milky looking pearl with few overtones. The iridescence of a pearl is due to the superimposed layers of translucent nacre.
The color of a pearl may or may not affect its cost, although the uniformity of color makes pearls more valuable. Black pearls used to be quite rare and very valuable, but now they are cultivated and therefore much more widely available. Natural white pearls are rarer and more valuable than cultured black pearls. The best color is largely a matter of personal choice, or whatever is most flattering to your skin tone, although regional preferences do exist and can affect price.
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