 Tahitian
Pearls Buyer's Guide
Tahitian pearls, are a naturally occuring gem and as with
other gems, the quality will vary from black pearl to black
pearl. To determine the quality of your tahitian pearl,
we have provided a buyer's guide to help in your choosing
the right black pearl for you. See our great selection
of Tahitian Pearl Jewelry here at our showcase.
There are a number of grading factors to look at when choosing
your black pearl and although each individual company may
have it's own grading standards, the below factors are based
on the Tahitian Government's regulation concerning Tahitian
Pearl farming and the exporting of tahitian pearls.
The factors to use to grade a tahitian pearl are as follows:
Shape
Size
Surface Quality
Luster
Color
Shape
Tahitian pearls are sorted into five different shape catagories:
Round, Semi-round, Semi-baroque, Baroque, and circled.
Round and semi-round 
Round pearls are almost perfect spheres with diameter variations
of less than 2%. Semi-round pearls are slighly off-round
with diameter variations of between 2% and 5%. Round
and semi-round pearls are the rarest and most expensive.
Semi-baroque 
Semi-baroque pearls have at least one axis of rotation
and are further divided into the further catagories of drop,
button and oval.
Baroque 
Baroque pearls are asymmetrical in shape and do not have
an axis of rotation.
Circled (or ringed) 
Circle (or ringed) pearls exibit regular streaks, rings
and/or grooves which are perpendicular to an axis of rotation
and cover more than one-third the surface of the pearl
Size
Sizing of the tahitian pearl is done in millimeters with
off-rounds pearls using the shortest diameter as it's gauge. All
other shapes are an average of the longest and shortest diameters. Tahitian
pearls generally range between 8mm and 16mm with the occasionally
larger sized pearl. Find a larger sized pearl and you
will have an exceptional pearl no matter the color.
Surface Quality
There are generally four classifications for surface quality
of a tahitian pearl - Quality A, B, C, and D. All classification
is done with the naked eye.
Quality A
A black pearl of this quality has no surface flaws orvery
slight imperfections that are visible to the naked eye which
are confined to less than 10% of the surface area. The
pearls in this classification will always have a high luster. Obviously,
a black pearl of this quality will be the most rare and
expensive.
Quality B
Quality B pearls have slight blemishes and will have imperfections
on less than one third the surface area.
Quality C
The pearl in this catagory exibit several visibel flaws
which generally cover over one third of the surface area.
Quality D
A quality D pearl will be heavily belmished with slight
imperfections over two-thirds of the surface area.
Luster
The luster of a pearl is related to how light reflects from
the pearl's surface. A pearl with high or very high luster
will have reflections that are bright and sharp. When
the relections are weak or difused, the pearl has a soft or
dull luster. You want to look for a pearl with a high
or very high luster.
Color
Contradictory to what the name says, a tahitian black pearl
may not be black at all. The colors can come in an assortment
of different colors but generally are either black, gray,
blue, green and brown but can also have hints of blue, pink,
gold, silver and purple. These additional color tones
add to the value of the pearl.
Black is the more valuable color but will be even more valuable
if it has a 'peacock green' overtone to it.
Summary
As with any other gem, quality and rarity contribute to the
value of the gem. With the tahitian pearl, you also need
to look at the color, surface imperfections and luster. Although
by grading the black pearl using the above information you
can determine the value of the pearl, it all comes down to
how you see the pearl in it's jewelry setting. A semi-baroque
pearl may not be as valuable as a round pearl but in the right
setting, in can be just as beautiful and be of great value
to the wearer.
Now that you are armed with the knowledge of selecting a
great tahitian pearl, let's go shopping for what will be a
stunning complement to any jewelry collection- The Tahitian
Black Pearl. Visit our showcase .
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