18k White Gold 8-11mm Tahitian Cultured Pearl Strand

Though Tahitian pearls are often referred to as black, their color is actually more of a silvery-gray, with a rich metallic sheen that can reveal deep shades of green, blue, and eggplant. This remarkable pearl derives its unique color from its cultivation inside the black-lipped variety of the Pinctada maxima oyster. These large oysters--up to a foot in diameter--are farmed on the volcanic atolls of Tahiti, where warm, nutrient-rich ocean waters create ideal environmental conditions for their growth. The oysters are pampered in the warm lagoons, and the pearls are kept inside them for long periods of time, allowing them to grow to their impressive size and develop multiple layers of lustrous nacre for a radiant glow. Because of their sensitivity to the cultivation process, few of these oysters survive to produce pearls, which explains why Tahitian pearls are so rare and valuable.