The simplicity of grey is clear in its symbolic associations. Grey pearls reflect qualities like dignity, patience, wisdom, progress, self-control, focus and security.
Perhaps the best-loved gems of all time, pearls—both natural and modern cultured pearls—occur in a wide variety of colors. The most familiar colors are white and cream (a light yellowish brown). Black, gray, and silver are also fairly common, but the palette of pearl colors extends to every hue.
Tahitian pearls are the only naturally-occurring dark colored pearls. Their color ranges from light gray to dark gray and green with overtones of greens, blues and purple. Tahitian pearls with peacock color, or green-gray to blue-gray body color and pink to purple overtone, are a favorite.
Tahitian pearls are harvested from black-lipped oysters in the temperate coastal waters of French Polynesia. They are known for being the only naturally occurring “black pearls” – typically sporting a glossy, metallic, grey colouring. Darker pearls are less common than lighter once and therefore fetch a higher price.
Gold Pearls
One of the largest and rarest pearls found around the world is Gold in color. They are Golden South Sea pearls, cultured in the Philippine Islands. Golden South Sea pearls have only been available to pearl lovers since the late 1970s, and are known as the “Rolls Royce” of cultured pearls.
The most classic and widely preferred pearl color is white. The white pearl is considered a symbol of purity, and is often associated with wedding and graduation celebrations.
Pearl Color Meanings:
White – Purity, Truth, Dreamer, Fertility, Innocence, Simplicity, Cleanliness, Faith, Honesty, Protection, Sincerity, Peace. Gold – Riches, Wealth, Prosperity, Freedom, Success, Love, Illumination, Compassion, Self-Esteem, Courage, Passion, Wisdom.
Oysters make colored pearls in a variety of ways, starting with the color of the outer edge of the shell — called the mollusk's “lip.” For instance, Tahitian pearls get their light to dark charcoal grey colors from the black-lipped saltwater Tahitian pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera.
Dyed pearls can have colors that aren't in the palette of natural pearls. These include neons, bright colors like hot pink and overly metallic lustres and shine on the surface of the pearl. Colours that can occur naturally are white, cream, grey, purple, black, pink, champagne or golden, blue and lavender.
In many cases, the color of a pearl is influenced the color of the lip of the oyster, which is the outer portion of its shell. Cultured Tahitian pearls, for example, inherit their grey hues from cultured Tahitian black-lipped oysters, also known as Pinctada margaritifera.
Grey pearls
Create a pared back look with a white blouse, navy blazer, simple grey pearl earrings and a single strand grey pearl necklace to tie everything together. For a more casual approach, pair grey pearls with a fine-knit ochre jumper or a teal cardigan with a crisp white t-shirt underneath.
Clean with a damp cloth only as needed.
If your pearls are visibly stained, you can mix a solution of lukewarm water and mild dish soap, dip a soft cleaning cloth in it and wipe the pearls. Do NOT submerge a pearl necklace in water, as it will weaken the silk thread.
Greyish colors of any depth also require color treatment, as freshwater typical colors include only a few very pale bluish tones. They are on the other hand the most common colors of non-nucleated ocean pearl cultivation by-products, ie ocean keshi pearls.
What Are The Most Expensive Pearls? Due to their rarity and size, South Sea pearls will carry the highest retail value. A perfectly round strand of South Sea pearls, with high luster and clean surface could retail for $100,000+ in a traditional luxury setting.
A natural pearl may show growth lines where concentric layers of nacre have been added. Cultured pearls on the other hand will appear to have a perfectly rounded nucleus that's surrounded by a halo of conchiolin and finally a thin outer layer.
Perfectly Round pearls are the rarest and most valuable shape there is! Pearl producing mollusks are usually nucleated with spherical bead nuclei (in the hopes that the resulting pearl will be a perfect Round).
South Sea. South Sea pearls are often referred to as the Rolls Royce of pearls. They are the largest and most valuable pearls grown today, with average sizes ranging from 10 to 15 millimeters.
The most common color for pearls is white, cream, pink, purple, but they also come in colors such as champagne, chocolate, blue, gold, silver and lavender. Some pearls have stunning overtones that exhibit multicolors.
Most Akoyas are white to grey with pink, green or silver overtones. Akoya pearls are never naturally black - these pearls have undergone either a radiation treatment or dyeing.
Natural pearls are formed over time, and will change color as they age. Natural pearls are organic and made of calcium carbonate, which is commonly found in oysters' shells. Natural pearls come in a wide range of colors, including white, cream and black—and can be dyed any color.
South Sea pearls are known worldwide for their natural colors of Silvery-White and Gold, and their extremely large sizes.
Black Pearl Meaning
Black pearls are also said to offer protection to the wearer, and are sometimes believed to have special powers or to bring luck, prosperity and success.
The pearl starts off as a symbol of hope but soon turns into a symbol of evil, greed, and destruction.
Pearls symbolize love in its purest and most essential form, as well as loyalty towards a person. For special occasions, such as mothers day, birthdays, graduations, or anniversaries. Pearls are always a great gift choice!