TAHİTİ PEARLS

The black pearls of the South Sea are also known as Tahitian Pearls or Black South Sea pearls. Tahitian Pearls come from a type of black-lipped mollusc called Pinctada Margaritifera.

This type of oyster is found in French Polynesia, which contains the world’s only volcanic, semi-tropical region, and the nearby Pacific Islands. (Tahiti is the biggest and most famous of 118 small, volcanic islands scattered right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.)

The Tahiti region’s expertise in cultivating pearls of outstanding quality is famous across the world and has also made a great contribution to the country’s development. The Tahitian Pearls sold by Oyster Pearl are all from the Tahiti region.

One day, we made a wish for you to enthral the ones you love with the splendour of black, then we decided to bring you the finest quality pearls from the Tahiti region, at the far reaches of the ocean, so your wish could come true.

While black pearl cultivation is a fairly recent development, in the Tahiti region it has been going on from 1983 to the present day. Its popularity in the 19th century reduced the numbers of Pinctada Margaritifera oysters in existence. But with the help of state intervention, efforts to increase the population saved the species from extinction.

About 100 young Tahitian oysters are released into the sea and left to mature for a year. Then the mature oysters are removed and implanted with a nucleus (obtained from oyster DNA) and returned to the oceans of volcanic Tahiti to grow further.

Tahitian pearls stay in the South Sea Ocean for a minimum of 2 years, during which they are visited every year at different times as part of their maintenance. At the end of this period, they reach a size of between 8mm and 15 mm. Tahitian pearls are famous for their dark colours and large size.

Black pearl cultivation in the South Sea region involves a relatively easier and cheaper process than cultivating South Sea pearls. This is due to the abundance of protected coral islands in the Tahiti region, which has brought the pearls to an affordable level.

The black of Tahitian Pearls contains the colour undertones listed below:

• Green

• Purple

• Peacock

• Dark grey

• Light grey

Although Tahitian pearls are described as black, they are very rarely true black. When they are found, true black pearls are particularly valuable. At Oyster Pearl, we choose the finest quality pearls so we can offer you gems of true black pearl quality.