The color of a Tahitian pearl is something that makes it truly unique. When you hear the term “Tahitian black pearl” you are bound to think that the pearls are black. Although the most common color is a greenish-black color, there are many variations. In addition to the shape of the pearl, the color is the best way to find unique jewelry that is appealing to you. The color is what really sets apart one black Tahitian pearl necklace from another, and it is also what makes the necklace the most striking.
Essentially, the colors of Tahitian pearls are broken down into two categories – body color and overtones.
The body color is the dominant, “real” color of the pearl, meaning it is the most visible color of the pearl. Some of the possible body colors are black, silver, purple, gray, green, brown, yellow, blue, and aubergine.
The overtones are the colors that seem to appear on top of the body color, sort of like a second color. Tahitian pearls can have one or more overtones, but it is also possible that there are no overtones present. Possible overtone colors include purple, gold, blue, green, pink, and aubergine.
Tahitian pearls are given specific names names for the different combinations of body and overtone colors. Below is a chart with these names:
Peacock – green and black
Fly Wing - metallic green and silver
Rainbow – black, green, and pink or aubergine
Tahitian Gold – gold and black
Champagne - yellow or gold and grey
Aubergine - purple or deep pink
Pigeon Grey – grey and purple
Moon Grey - pale grey
Pistachio – grey and green
Lavender - silver or grey and blue
As you can see, there are a huge number of possible combinations, making it difficult to pair together a large number of Tahitian pearls. The rarest of all are Tahitian pearls are the ones that are completely pink, green, blue or gold. Necklaces are generally created with pearls of the same shape and color (although not always), so you can imagine how rare a Tahitian pearl necklace comprised of round golden Tahitian pearls would be. This also indicates how personalized Tahitian black pearls can be. There are so many different color combinations that each individual can pick out a Tahitian pearl necklace that is unique and special.