Where do pearls come from?

Pearls can come from a wild oyster but most of them today are cultivated.

Where are Tahitian pearls reared?

Tahitian pearls are reared in Pearl farms which are mostly located in the Arhipelagos of the Tuamotu tand of Gambiers (2 among the 5 archipelagos of the French Polynesia).

Why are Tahitian Pearls called black pearls?

The Tahitian pearl is wrongly called « Black pearl » because the pearl is cultivated into an oyster named « black-lips oyster ». This oyster is from the species Pinctada Margaritifera Cumingui Var. The Pinctada Margaritifera oyster only lives in Polynesian sea beds. It is a much sought-after species, since it gives pearls a huge variety of colors: green, purple, blue, pink, grey and peacock (a mix of purple and green).
An other species of Black Pearl exists in China Sea. Pearls of China come from a different oyster that makes the pearl really black-coloured.

Are shapes and colours natural?

Shapes and colours are entirely natural and depend on several criteria :

• the species of the pearl oyster
• the quality of the mother of pearl
• the environment where the pearl has grown
• the colour of the scion planted into the nucleus

Colour shades are made with the light that goes through the mother of pearl.

Why aren’t pearls smaller than their we can find?

Legislation prescribes a minimum of 0,8 mm for the mother of pearl’s layer.

In which part of the oyster does the pearl grow?

The transplant is made into the genital organia of the oyster (gonad).

What is a keishi?

A keishi or keshi has baroque shapes and is mostly small. It is formed naturally when the oyster rejects the nucleus which has no more support. It is after this moment that the keishi takes several shapes.

Can an oyster make two pearls?

There is no practice of that type of graft with the species Pinctada Margartiifera. Nucleus is just transplanted into the pearl bag and will produce only one pearl.