Tahitian pearls, also known as black pearls, are among the most exotic and sought after gemstones on the market today. Because of their typically dark color these gemstones are also called black pearls even though the color can range from gunmetal grey to silver white and many exotic colors in between including chocolate, baroque green and even peacock. This elusive and unique pearl was first cultivated in 1961 by Jean-Marie Dormand, a Frenchmen responsible for marine resources in French Polynesia.

The first culturing experiments took place in the lagoons of the atoll of Hikueru and Bora Bora islands of French Polynesia. This led to the first harvest in 1965 which resulted in over 1,000 black pearls. The first export of black pearls wasn’t until 1972 but soon the secret was out and by 1996 over $152 million worth of black gems were being shipped out of French Polynesia. Interestingly enough these pearls are not harvested in Tahiti but rather in the rich atolls that make up French Polynesia.

Featuring a rich, brilliant luster and smooth, clean nacre Tahitian pearls are perfect for pendants, necklaces, ear rings and other forms of jewelry. Since being discovered the demand for these rare stones, in particular Tahitian pearls, has increased steadily each year and has forced conservation in the bountiful French Polynesian waters to allow for oyster bed repopulation. When pearls were first discovered by colonists in the 1700′s several prime harvesting sites were quickly dried up due to the dramatic demand for the exotic gems.

Tahitian pearls come from the large black-lip oysters named Pinctada Margaritifera. These oysters are quite small and only a handful will survive the cultivation process and produce a fine gemstone. This makes Tahitian pearls rarer than other highly sought after jewels including Akoya and South Sea varities.

Each black pearl is a one of kinds unique and finding a match for a pair of ear rings can take quite some time. Jewelers and pearl experts often have to sift through hundreds of black pearls to find one that matches another closely enough to be used for ear rings or other fine jewelry.

Because of the rich luster, rarity and storied history Tahitian pearls are one of the most sough after gems on the jewelry market today and you can find terrific pearls on watches, ear rings, necklaces, pendants, cuff links and other decorative trinkets.

Natural color diamonds are unique as they exist in almost every imaginable color, size and price range. Colored diamonds will vary from the faintest shade of pastel pink, blue or yellow to the most deep or vivid shade of brown, green or orange. The value of natural color diamonds is based on the rarity, strength and variation of color within each diamond. Natural color diamonds can vary in color saturation or strength from very faint to an intense vivid color. Just a slight shift in color strength can make a colored diamond affordable. The strength of color is one of the most important factors in determining the value of a natural colored diamond. The value increases with the intensity of the most prominent color within the diamond.

In an attempt to bring some uniformity to the industry description of natural color diamonds, gem analysis laboratories have developed the fancy colored diamond color scale to classify the strength or intensity of a diamond’s color. Generally speaking, such gradient scales and tools are a reflection of human attempt to categorize the color the eye sees and judge it within three parametric areas: color hue, tone and saturation. Natural color diamonds are evaluated from the “face up” position, meaning gemologists look directly through the top of the diamond. Experts at both the Gemological Institute of America and the International Gemological Institute (IGI) have three parameters by which they describe color for these exquisite stones: hue, tone and saturation.

Color hue refers to the dominant color of the stone, such as pink, yellow, blue. There can also be modifiers or tints, which impart more than one hue to the stone, casting it into a still separate color category. For instance, a purplish-pink diamond indicates a stone with principal pink hue and purplish tints. If no such tints are present, the hue of the stone is said to be a pure primary color. Color tone refers to how much lightness or darkness a stone appears to retain even when illuminated. The range, obviously, is from light or very light, to dark or very dark. Color Saturation describes the strength or intensity of the hue or main color. The saturation of light-toned diamonds can vary from a pastel to vivid and intense. Darker diamonds will range from dark to deep in description.

Natural color diamonds are graded by gemological laboratories in very high-tech environments under controlled lighting environments similar to natural daylight. First, diamonds are tested for treatment, synthetic additions or alterations to ensure authenticity. Most laboratories will scan diamonds with a spectroscope to compare readings with their historical data and utilize High-Pressure-High-Temperature detection and other proprietary equipment. Gemologists will also use comparison stones and proprietary color chips to compare two diamonds to each other. Though the face-up appearance is ultimately what determines the diamond color, stones are evaluated from other angles as well.