Pearl Luster

Pearls are made naturally from oysters. But the case of Tahitian pearls is a bit odd. A strange phenomenon, presents itself in the case of Tahitian pearls. Though it may sound strange, but the fact is that, Tahitian pearls are neither found in Tahiti nor are they all of the black variety as commonly believed. Tahitian pearls actually come in shades of brown, gray, green and purple. So black in just one color in which Tahitian pearls are found. But there are many others. Tahitian pearls are mostly big sized colorful gems that have gorgeous overtones and are endowed with an incredible luster of their own. These Tahitian pearls are basically cultured pearls but they look completely different than the other cultured variety which is the white Akoya pearl.

So how are pearls made? Pearls do not grow on trees nor are they manufactured in warehouses. They are found inside live oysters. When some foreign substance enters the oyster’s body, it tries to protect itself by secreting a substance called nacre. This substance covers the intruder and eventually multiple layers of nacre cover up the irritant and the resultant product is the pearl. In course of the time, oysters produce Tahitian pearls, the black-lipped oyster is around six to eight inches in diameter.

Tahiti, as we all know, is the largest island in French Polynesia but the pearl culturing farms are located in other remote islands in the territory that are accessible only by a sea plane or a boat. Actually, the blue lagoons of the Tuamotu Archipelago and Gambier islands are home to the pearl farms that cultivate and develop into Tahitian pearls. The shallow lagoons of these islands are bounded by coral reefs where the waters are nutrient rich, clean and calm. This helps a lot in furthering the culturing process. Here the pearls are found in a type of bivalve mollusk called black-lipped oyster that is native to French Polynesia.

The pearls that have been obtained in this fashion are called cultured pearls. Of course, the quality of cultured pearls depend a lot on the water body selected for cultivation, the nutrients available in it as well as various other factors like sweet or salt water, the depth at which the cultivation is practiced, etc. Since salt water is freely available in the sea, salt water oysters are easily cultivated in shallow basins or lagoons that are not very deep. Some sea-waters provide ideal cultivation and pearls obtained from such places are linked to the area and hence named after them.

Tahitian pearls are much in demand with jewelers and fashion designers all over the world. Since Tahitian pearls come in various sizes and colors, they make beautiful pendants, necklaces, rings, earrings and are widely used in jewelry worn by ladies while men’s items cover cuff links, tie pins and others.

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