Saltwater pearls that are yellowish usually sell for less than those which are white and light pink. Golden South Sea pearls from Indonesia and the Philippines are an exception and can sell for as much as white South Sea pearls, provided the gold color is intense and natural.

Natural-color black pearls (they're actually gray) can sell
for as much as white pearls of the same size and quality, as long as they have overtone colors and are not just plain gray. The overtone colors, which are visible in the light-colored areas of black pearls, may be green, pink, blue or purple.

Pink overtones are desirable on white pearls and are visible in the dark areas of the pearl. Greenish or yellowish overtones tend to reduce the price of white pearls. Occasionally, iridescent rainbow-like colors are visible on pearls. Pearl iridescence is always considered a valuable quality.

The way in which color affects the pricing of freshwater pearls varies from one dealer to another. Often it has little or no effect. However, when comparing the prices of any pearls, try to compare pearls of the same type and color.

If you were buying Swiss cheese and you had a choice between some that was white and some that was slightly yellow or cream color, which would you choose? Most likely the cream color because the average person has been conditioned to expect Swiss cheese to have a yellowish tint. If when you bought Swiss cheese, you discovered that pieces with large holes often tasted better than those without, you might also develop a preference for Swiss cheese with big holes.

People's expectation of what pearls should look like have been conditioned in a similar manner. Many expect pearls to be white because that's what they are accustomed to seeing. In addition, pearls are associated with the moon, weddings and purity-which, in turn, are connected to the color white.

Within the jewelry trade, Akoya or Persian Gulf pearls with high luster were often found to have a pinkish tint. Consequently, many people developed a preference for pearls with a slight pink tint. To meet the demand for such pearls, producers have sometimes bleached their pearls and dyed them pink.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the color of pearls. The topic of color will also be addressed in the chapters on freshwater, black and South Sea pearls. The Akoya pearl is the main focus of this chapter.

Pearl color is complex. It's a combination of the following:

Body Color:    The predominant basic color of the pearl.

Overtone:   The one or more colors that overlie the body color. On black pearls these colors are usually easiest to see in the lighter areas of the pearl. On white pearls they are easier to see in the darker areas.

For example, lay some white pearls on something white, and look at them under a strong, direct light (midday sun is ideal but a light bulb will do). The outer rim area of the pearls, which is reflecting the white background, will be lighter than the center of the pearls if they are of decent quality (except for the bright reflection of the light). If you look closely, you should see a slight pink, green, blue and/or silver color in the central dark areas of the pearls. This is the overtone. Generally you will see more than one overtone color in a strand of pearls. You may also see more than one on the same pearl. some pearls have both pink and blue overtones.

Iridescence:   A play of lustrous colors. They may be like those of the rainbow, or they may be a subtle combination of colors such as pink, blue, green and silver. The colors of the pearls change when you move them in your hand. Orient is another term that is used to refer to pearl iridescence. In a handout from their pearl grading course, the GIA specifies that "orient has 6 colors: violet, blue, red, green, yellow, orange, all the
colors of the rainbow. " Some dealers, however, employ the term more loosely to also mean a combination of overtone colors.

Other dealers and many books written in the past use the term "orient" to refer to luster because iridescence and luster are interconnected. Since "orient" may be interpreted in various ways, this book tends to use the term "iridescence" instead.

Other dealers and many books written in the past use the term "orient" to refer to luster because iridescence and luster are interconnected. Since "orient" may be interpreted in various ways, this book tends to use the term "iridescence" instead.

When you shop for pearls, you may come across terms such as white rose. This means white pearls with a pink overtone. "Ross" is the French word for pink. Pink rose means that most of the pearls have a light pink body color and a pink overtone. White pearls with a silver overtone may be described as silver(y) white. Often salespeople don't specify the overtone but they just say one color such as "pink" which describes their overall impression of the pearls.

Judging Pearl Color

When deciding what color pearls to buy, your primary concern should be what looks best on you, But you will also want to know how the color affects their price.

The overall body color can play a significant role in determining the price of Akoya pearls. Five main body color categories for pearls are:

Light pink (pink): Usually the highest price category, but some dealers price light pink and white pearls alike. A few dealers make a distinction between pearls with subtle pink tints and those that look artificial and obviously dyed. They may refuse to stock the latter. Incidentally, jewelers often have no way of knowing if their pink pearls are dyed because suppliers are not required to disclose this. Naturally¬colored pink pearls, however, typically have a light pink rather than a pink body color.

White: Equal to or less than pearls with a light pink body color. Some people in the trade have a negative view of "white pearls" because they associate them with the very thin-nacre pearls that look milky white and have no overtone. It's not the white body color that makes these pearls appear low-quality; it's the absence of overtones, . Lustrous, valuable pearls normally have silver or pink overtones.

Light Cream: Usually cost less than white. The higher the quality of the pearls, the greater the price difference will probably be between light cream and white. In low qualities, there may be no difference.

Cream: Usually cost less than light cream. In cream colors, the general tendency is the
darker the color, the lower the price. Cream-color pearls are sometimes termed champagne pearls.

Dark Cream & Yellow: May be priced about 40% or more lower than white Akoya pearls. The darker the cream or yellow color, the greater the price difference.

When judging color, keep in mind that there is no
standardized system of communicating or grading color in the pearl industry. What one dealer calls light cream, another might call cream. Nevertheless, there is an awareness of the concept "cream color" and general agreement that cream-color Akoya pearls tend to cost less than those which are pink or white.

Overtone color(s): may or may not affect the price. The three most common overtones are pink, green and silver. If the color of the overtones has an effect on price, it will generally be as follows:
Pink overtones: Can increase the price
Silver overtones: Usually no effect
Green overtones: Sometimes may decrease the price slightly

The combination of blue and pink overtones is associated with top-quality pearls. Some Japanese dealers describe the color of the most valued Akoya pearls as a bluish-pink, which in essence is a light-pink body color with blue and pink overtones. These pearls, which are extremely rare and difficult to find in America, are sometimes classified by the Japanese as "hanadama quality."

There is no general agreement in the trade as to how overtones affect price. Most dealers, however, would probably concede that Akoya pearls with pink overtones tend to be more highly valued than those with green ones. This explains why pearls are often dyed pink but not green. What counts most about overtone is how it affects your overall impression of the color and luster of the pearls. Pearl dealers would agree, too, that the presence of overtones is highly desirable. Their absence is a sign of low luster and thin nacre.

The third color component of pearls, iridescence, is rarely obvious on round Akoya pearls. It tends to be very subtle combination of pink, blue and green. A more obvious iridescence-flashes of rainbow colors-is more likely to be seen on freshwater pearls and baroque shapes. Iridescence is always considered a positive value factor.

When examining pearls for color remember the following tips:

• Judge the color of pearls against a non-reflective white background. Pearls not only reflect the color of the background, they also absorb it. Afterwards, place the pearls on your hand or around your neck to see how they look on you.

• Take into consideration the lighting (see next section). If possible look at the pearls under different types of light sources-daylight near a window, fluorescent, and incandescent (light bulbs). You'll probably be wearing the pearls under a variety of light sources.

• It's a lot easier to compare color than to remember it. If possible, wear or take along some comparison pearls. Otherwise, compare the color to other pearls in the store. Even using white and cream-colored papers as color references is better than relying on color memory.

• When pearl strands are exactly adjacent, their color may seem to bleed from one strand to another. Therefore, also compare them slightly separated from each other.

• Every now and then, look away from the pearls at other colors and objects. When you focus on one color too long, your perception of it becomes distorted.

• Consider how evenly distributed the color is on the pearl(s), especially if it's one major pearl on a ring or pendant. A uniform color is more highly valued than a blotchy one.

• If you are trying to decide between white and pink pearls of the same quality but the pink pearls cost more. Look in a few of the drill holes with a 10-power magnifier.
If you can see red or pink stains on the nacre layer or a pink line between the nacre and the nucleus, they are dyed. Seeing positive indications of dye may influence your decision. By the way, even if you don't see evidence of dye, the pearls may still be dyed.

• Make sure you're alert and feel good when you examine pearls. If you're tired, sick or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, your perception of color will be impaired.

How Lighting Affect Pearl Color

Just as luster is affected by lighting, so is color, but in a different way. If you were to take a photograph indoors under a light bulb with daylight film, the picture would be orangy or yellowish. If you took it under fluorescent light, the picture would look greenish. Even though, unlike cameras, your eyes can adjust to changes of color from lighting, you're still influenced by them. Consequently, your perception of pearl color will depend on the lighting under which the pearls are viewed.

The whitest, most neutral light is at midday. Besides adding the least amount of color, this light makes it easier to see various nuances of color. Consequently, you should judge pearl color under a daylight-equivalent light. Neutral fluorescent bulbs approximate this ideal, but some of these lights are better than others. Three that are recommended are the Duro-Test Vita light, GE Chroma 50 or Sylvania Design 50. This light, however, is not as effective as true sunlight for seeing detail. For example, it's normally easier to read very fine print in sunlight than in artificial light. The intensity of the light from the sun has a lot to do with this.

When you shop for pearls, your choice of lighting will probably be limited. Use the information below to help you compensate for improper lighting.

                                        
Emphasis on proper lighting when viewing gems has not been restricted to modern-day times. In 1908, in The Book of the Pearl, Kunz and Stevenson wrote:

At great receptions, large and apparently magnificent pearls are frequently seen, which are really of inferior quality, and yet owing to the absence of pure daylight, they can easily be mistaken for perfect specimens by any one not especially familiar with pearls. Indeed, if the royalties of Europe should wear all the pearls belonging to the crown jewels at the same time, in a palace or hall lighted with candles, gas, or even with some types of electric light, they would seem to have a quality which many of them do not and never did possess. It is,
therefore, essential for the buyer to use every precaution in reference to the light in which he examines his purchase."

What Causes Pearl Color?

A lot of pearl farmers wish they had the full answer to this question. Then they could control the color of the
pearls they cultivated. Now they have only part answers or clues. Some of the determinants of pearl color seem to be:

• The type of host oyster. Oysters vary in their potential to produce certain colored pearls. For example, black pearls are cultivated in the black-lip oyster because other oysters don't produce pearls of the same type. Even though pearl farmers know the black-lip oyster is essential to the cultivation of black pearls, they don't know yet how to consistently make it produce a specific color. The pearl may end up being white or a variety of shades of gray as well as black, bronze, greenish or purplish.

• The quality of the nacre. If the nacre is very thin, the color will look milky and lack overtone tints. Besides being affected by the number of layers of nacre, pearl color is affected by the thickness of each layer. In Pearls of the World, researcher Koji Wada states, "The reason why the pearl made by the Akoya pearl-oyster has a better pink tone than pearls made by other mollusks is that it has layers of equal thickness. "

• The environment in which they are grown. It's theorized that there may be trace elements in the water that affect the color. For example, cream-color pearls are typical of natural pearls from the Ohio River, but not of those found in other American Rivers.

Pearls the Wedding Jewel

The tradition of giving pearls to brides probably dates back to about 1000 BC when the Hindu God Krishna gave his daughter pearls on her wedding day. It continued with the ancient Greeks, who believed that pearls would ensure a happy marriage. The association between pearls and weddings reached a peak during the 14' and 15' centuries when everyone from the bride to her male guests were adorned in pearls.

Today pearls, which symbolize purity and innocence, are as much a wedding jewel as diamonds. Just have a look at a bridal shop or wedding catalogue. You'll find pearls, both fake and real, decorating wedding gowns, veils, tiaras, gloves, purses, ring-bearer pillows, cake toppers and party favors. And at weddings, you'll notice that pearls have become essential jewelry for both the bride and bridesmaids.

Pearls of Wisdom from a Wedding Expert:
Jet Taylor of J Taylor Bridal Jewels in Charlotte, North Carolina has advised brides for years on their bridal attire. Here are some of her tips on selecting wedding pearls:

• The bride's pearl jewelry should be well matched. For example, her pearl earrings should be of the same type and color as her pearl necklace. The bride is the featured attraction, so she should expect that her guests will be closely examining everything she's wearing on this special day.

• Pearl jewelry should be color-coordinated with the pearls on the gown rather than with the gown itself. For example, if the gown is ivory-colored and the pearls on it are white, the bride's pearl jewelry should also be white. The pearls on the gown should be the same color as those on the veil. In sum, all the pearls the bride is wearing should look like they were made to go together.

• If the bride would like to wear a necklace, earrings or brooch from her grandmother that
doesn't match her other pearls, consider placing a note in the program stating the bride is wearing, for example, a pearl necklace in honor of her grandmother.

• If a bride or bridesmaid is wearing a necklace, it should be at least one inch above the neckline so it will not look as if it is going to fall into the dress. If the necklace is longer, it should be at least two inches below the
neckline so that it will show and the necklace cannot fall into the dress.

• Despite the above tips, the bride should remember that this is her day and she has a right to wear whatever she wishes. tissue inserted in Akoya oysters is yellow, cream-colored pearls tend to form. If white, white pearls result.

What Color is the Best For You

Most pearl experts agree that a buyer's color choice should be primarily based on what will look good on the person who will wear the pearls. Some salespeople, though, give color advice by suggesting what's popular in specific geographic areas. One fairly consistent statement, for example, is that South Americans prefer cream- or golden-colored pearls.

When shopping in the United States, the color listed as the number one choice may vary from one salesperson to another. Perhaps it's a matter of what the store has in stock. It's sometimes claimed that the most popular pearl color in America is pink. The U.S., however, is a diverse nation. Consequently, pink is not the color that looks best on all Americans. Picking a color on the basis of its popularity might lead to a poor choice.

Determining the colors that flatter you most is not always easy. Carole Jackson, in her book, Color Me Beautiful, provides some guidelines with color illustrations. She points out on page 28, for example, that olive-skinned people and most blacks and Orientals look radiant in clear, vivid, cool colors (pink, white, blue, red) but sallow in warm colors (cream, orange, beige, mustard). Warm colors, however, are very flattering to people with peach or golden complexions (Redheads and blondes often have this skin coloring).

Some people in the trade recommend white and pink pearls to Asians and Anglos and cream or golden pearls to blacks and olive-skinned customers. This is because cream colors look whiter on a dark-skinned person than on someone with lighter skin.

One easy way to determine which pearl colors will compliment you is to put on white, light pink, and cream-colored clothing and see what looks best next to your face. It's helpful to get the opinion of family and friends. Often, two of the colors look equally attractive, but it's rare that all three will. The final test will be to put the pearls on your hand or around your neck and see how they look. Consider, too, if you want people to notice the pearls when you wear them. If you do, then choose a color that contrasts with your skin tone. Pearls that blend in too closely won't be very striking. When you're buying for others, they probably won't be able to try on the pearls. So beforehand, observe what color clothes they like to wear and look good in. If they don't like beige or cream¬colored clothes and these colors don't flatter them, you' be better off avoiding cream-colored pearls.

Two other considerations when choosing pearl color are versatility and price. If you would like to wear the pearls as often as possible, then select colors that will go well with most of your wardrobe. If your budget is limited and you are trying to choose between light or dark cream pearls, the dark cream pearls could be the ideal choice. Don't buy them, though, if cream colors make you look washed out. The purpose of jewelry is to enhance your appearance, not detract from it. So put some thought into your color choices. It will pay off in the end.