The rarest - the complete opposite of white pearls, rebellious black - can not leave anyone indifferent. Let's take a look at the dark side today. Meet the King among pearls and the pearls of kings - rare black.
The origin of black pearls
Natural black pearls have existed for centuries, but were extremely rare - perhaps one pearl in a million. Perhaps due to such a rarity, black pearls were covered with many legends and beliefs.
The natural black pearl necklace pictured above once belonged to Queen Isabella I of Spain and is over 500 years old. Queen Isabella II inherited the magnificent necklace much later (1833-1868) and then put the pearls up for auction in 1875 after she abdicated. It consists of 44 natural black pearls ranging in size from 6,5 to 13,8 mm.
In China, the mythical dragon was a creature revered for its strength, luck and power. Chinese legend says that the dragon's brain contains black pearls; the one who possesses the black pearl will be endowed with mystical cunning and wisdom.
In ancient Rome and Greece, black pearls were believed to form when a rainbow touches the land and sea.
Wild black pearls from French Polynesia are a truly rare gemstone. It is so rare that the pearl itself was largely unheard of until the practice of pearl farming came to the islands in the late 1960s and 70s.
Polynesian legends tell of Oro, the god of war (in other legends, he is the god of peace and fertility). In love with the beautiful princess of Bora Bora, he descended to the island on a rainbow of light to present her with the most precious treasure heaven could offer: Po Rava, a colorful black Tahitian pearl.
Jewelry gallery with black Tahitian pearls:
Three types of black pearls
Black pearl Akoya
It is most often dyed. Their surface color usually ranges from blackish blue to blackish green and is almost always of a very dark tone. The dyeing process saturates the mother-of-pearl from the outside in and tends to wear off the iridescence, leaving a surface of uniform color and an almost plastic sheen.
Black freshwater pearl
It can be either colored or irradiated. Irradiated black freshwater pearls can range from intense multicolor peacock to denim blue and violet-purple to intense blue-green with varying iridescence on the surface. Often small black "specks" are visible on the surface of the pearl if the irradiation treatment has not completely covered the surface.
Black-dyed freshwater pearls are strikingly similar to black-dyed akoya pearls in color, size, and luster - the easiest way to tell them apart is the difference in shape: akoya pearls are perfectly round, while freshwater pearls will have a slightly out-of-round or oval shape.
Black Tahitian pearl
The colors of these beautiful pearls range from light blue gray to jet black, however their most common tones are dark jet gray with overtones that are usually silver or steel, classic peacock green, aquamarine, pink and aubergine. The absence of any color-enhancing treatment means their surfaces shimmer from subtle to intense iridescence and exhibit a beautiful, palpable sheen.
Jewelry gallery with Tahitian black pearls: