Tahitian black pearls originate from an animal and mineral combination; This is because only one in fifteen thousand is created naturally. These pearls are considered as symbols of perfection, being coveted among all, obtaining from an oyster called «Pinctada Margaritifera», which lives only in the tropical waters of the islands found in Polynesia; Inside this shell a foreign body is introduced, being covered by the nacre of the mollusk.
Tahitian black pearls have a characteristic color, which tends to go from black to a complex degradation of shades, coming from grays, going through pinks, bluish and greenish, until obtaining a darkening similar to jet. In addition, the size they present exceeds Japanese pearls; They usually range between 8mm and 12mm in diameter, but there are many that measure up to 20mm.
The price of black pearls is usually very high because it is considered a primary resource in the economy of the area; more than all, for its cultivation that has been developed for a long time in an artificial way, adopting the Japanese cultivation technique. Pearl farming was born in Polynesia in the 1960s, with the first experiments being carried out in the Bora Bora lagoon, brought to this place by the French “Jean Domard”, taking into account the rarity of natural pearls that take years to form.
Tahitian black pearl growers try to reproduce the natural mechanism in them. For this, the «pearl farmer» submerges some collectors collecting the oysters in their embryonic state; then the oyster larvae are linked to a row of underwater gestation and when they reach maturity, a six-millimeter sphere is implanted inside the molluscs; immersing them again in the lagoon, hanging in the form of chains, as time passes, they are monitored and cleaned frequently.
The nacre gradually varnishes the ball and in two years, the black pearls of Tahiti can be extracted. However, in this delicate process there are risks when the graft is placed; the majority will reject the implant, with this you can appreciate the reason for its high cost and indisputable quality; The most striking difference between the black Tahitian pearl and the other white pearls is the dark-colored nacre that covers the foreign body.
Currently, there are more than 300 farms in French Polynesia, to cultivate and collect the black pearls. Also, no two Tahitian black pearls are exactly alike, each one is unique, with a different color, size and shade; therefore, you cannot create a sequence of them that look similar.
Tahitian black pearls are second to none. True wonders that have always captivated, due to their immense beauty; but the hand of man has contributed to maintaining that perfection created by God, giving it continuity.