Tahitian Pearls
From the waters of French Polynesia, Tahitian pearls are known as some of the most exotic pearls available on the market. Renowned for their dark body colors and colorful overtones, many quality factors used to judge Tahitian pearls are the same as others.
Some attempts have been made to standardize a grading system for Tahitian pearls, but there nonetheless remains no universally adopted system. Read on below to find out more about how Moline Pearls deals with Tahitian strands, singles, and pairs.
*An Important Note Regarding Tahitian Pearl Export Regulations*
In 2017, legislation passed that no longer requires any Tahitian pearls be inspected before exportation to other countries. Prior to this, any pearls with inadequate nacre thickness were destroyed. Now, all pearls can be exported regardless of nacre thickness and thus overall pearl quality has dropped dramatically. Rest assured, any Moline branded Tahitian pearls are still of the highest quality, and would easily pass the old nacre inspection requirement.
Luster
As with any type of pearls, a Tahitian pearl's luster is its most desirable and important quality.
Sometimes, darker Tahitian pearls can appear more lustrous than other, lighter Tahitian pearls. It can be difficult to compare luster across significantly different brightnesses of Tahitian pearls.
Color
Truly prized Tahitian pearls will show remarkable, varied, and unique colors. Bright and vivid Tahitian pearls that also have strongest luster command premium prices.
Some Tahitian pearls have a "peacock" effect, as can be seen above. Strong peacock Tahitian pearls showcase another, different color that appears as if it sits on top of a pearl's base color. Usually, peacock Tahitian pearls are thought of as having a green body with a bronze, cherry, or pink overtone.
Tahitian pearls which are perfectly uniform in color are higher priced than a multicolor strand.
Surface Quality
As with other pearl types, the more flawless a Tahitian pearl is, the more desirable it is considered. Truly flawless Tahitian pearls are exceptionally rare, especially so in sizes larger than 11mm. Gem quality Tahitian pearls have a glossy, "wet" looking surface.
When shopping for Tahitian pearls, priority should be given to finding pearls that face up cleanly when worn, or in the case of a strand, where blemishes are not seen from a normal viewing distance when worn.