Pearls of Color are Period
By Satine De La Courcel
When many people think of pearls in period what frequently comes to mind are the white ones made popular in the late 1500's by Queen Elizabeth I. When in fact pearls have be used my civilizations far back as 4000 BCE and different cultures placed value on pearls of color not just white pearls. In china and India golden-yellow pearls were preferred, where as red pearls found in the Pinna shells of the Mediterranean and surrounding waters have little value elsewhere but are valued in this region.
Pearls are found in nature in an array of colors from white, cream, pink, gold, lavender to dark blue, purples and various shades of gray or what we commonly refer to as "black" pearls. Mollusks and mussels are found in all sorts of freshwater lakes and streams as well as salt water all over the world. Out of those only a handful are able to produce pearls and many of those vary in color from white to varying shades black, lavender, pink and gold.
Various theories have been proposed in an attempt to answer this question. Some theories propose that color depends in part on the species of mollusks that produce them. Each pearl is a complex layering of color. Experts describe the color of pearls in a further breakdown of a combination of a predominant color, the body color, a secondary color and the overtone or tint.
More fanciful theories explaining the color of pearls, include in Greco-roman times, it was thought weather and water quality determined the color of a pearl. More explanations suggested the color of a pearls was related to the depth of the water: white pearls were formed in deep water and dark pearls formed in shallow water bathed in sunshine. At one time it was also thought the sediments the oysters lived on that contributed to the color or to the methods used to remove the pearls. In Ceylon where the pearls were extracted after the body of the oyster had rotted away, yellow pearls were the result of letting the pearls remain in the decayed body to long.
While this question has no definitive answer, it is generally accepted, "pearls will have the same color as that of the mother-of-pearl at the corresponding point of the shell in which it is formed, there are many exceptions to this, and the reasons for the varying tints and colors are probably found in the changes in position of the pearl, the ingredients in the water, the health of the mollusk, accidents of various kinds etc…. In general it is no more easy to explain the colors of pearls than it is say why one rose is white and another is yellow."
Silver-or Golden-Lipped Pearl Oyster - White to Gold color pearls. Range: Eastern Indian Ocean to the tropical western Pacific.
Black -Lipped Pearl Oyster - Grey to black with green, blue or red overtones. Range: Indian ocean and western central Pacific.
La Paz Pearl Oyster - These pearls range in colors from white to gray, with blue or green overtones. This pearl is commonly thought to be the origin of La Peregrina, The pearl Richard Burton bought for his then wife Elizabeth Taylor in 1968, that she still owns today. These pearls were called, "New World Black Pearls", brought back to Europe by the Spanish in the Early to mid 16th century. Range: in the eastern Pacific from Baja California to Peru.
Atlantic Pearl Oyster - White or Yellowish in color. These are also known as Venezuelan pearls and the source of Columbus' pearls he sent to France. Range: the western Atlantic from Bermuda and Florida to northern South America.
Ceylon Pearl Oyster - White or Yellowish in color. These are the pearls that are called Oriental pearls in history. Range: Throughout the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean.
Pipi Pearl Oyster - Yellow in color. Range: Indian Ocean, to the Central Pacific Ocean.
Western Winged Pearl Oyster - Colors range from blue to rose-gray. These Pearls are also known as "New World Black Pearls" also brought back to Europe by the Spanish. Range: eastern Pacific, from Baja California to Peru.
Western Winged Pearl Oyster - Colors range from blue to rose-gray. These Pearls are also known as "New World Black Pearls" also brought back to Europe by the Spanish. Range: eastern Pacific, from Baja California to Peru.
Queen Conch - Various shades of pink color. Range: South Florida, Bermuda and the Caribbean to Central and South America.
Noble Pen Shell - Colors vary from whites and creams to reds. Range: Mediterranean Sea.
Hard Shell Clam - Colors vary from white-pink to purples. Range: Eastern Canada to Florida.
European Pearl Mussel - Colors range from milky white to various shades of brown. Range: Europe, Northwestern Asia and Northeastern north America. These pearls would have been the "potato" pearls so often used in beadwork, and tapestries, the larger ones for jewelry and some clothing adornment.
I have included pearls in varying colors that I have collected over the years. All of the pearls from my collection are fresh water cultured pearls and the colors dyed. These pictures are ones I have personally taken of pearls that I own.
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 Top are black pearls more in the black tone whereas the lot in the middle has more reds, blue and green hues to the black creating a "peacock effect" or overtone. The ones on the Bottom are pearls of a silver gray color reminiscent of some of the "Black pearls" that were brought back to Europe from what today is the Southern California region of the "Americas". |
My Little Gold pearls
Mauve and Lavender bracelets
Various shades of peach colored pearl bracelets
Peach strands
Pink Strands
Please note the pictures are of my personal pearls I have in my collection, I took these pictures. Permission is NOT given to use any picture for any reason! Thank you!
(i) Jeremy Shepherd, Founder and President www.pearlparadise.com
(iii) Caitlyn Williams, Pearl Enthusiast, Pearl Jeweler and Beader Extrodinaire
(iv) Douglas McLaurin, M.Sc. Pearl Farmer, Co-Founder, Co-Owner, Managing Director "Perlas del Mar de Cortez" www.perlas.com.mx/
(v) Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd By Janet Arnold Printed and Published in Great Britain by W.S. Maney & Son Ltd. c. 1988
(vi) A Visual History of Costume, The sixteenth century, By Jane Ashelford, Published in Great Britain by B.T. Batsford Ltd. c 1983, 1986, 1993
(vii) The Book of the Pearl, Its History, Art, Science and Industry, By George Frederick Kunz and Charles Hugh Stevenson, Dover Publications, New York 3rd Printing c 2001
(viii)The Book of the Pearls, their History and Romance from Antiquity to Modern Times, by Joan Younger Dickinson, Bonanza Books, a division of Crown Publishers , c 1968
(ix) Pearls, By Fred Ward, Fred Ward Gem Series Revised Edition, Published by Gem Book Publishers, c 1998
(x) The Pearl Book, The Definitive Buying Guide, How to Select, Buy, Care For & Enjoy Pearls, By Antoinette L Matlins, pg, Gemstone Press c 1996
(xi) Pearls a Natural History, By Neil Landman, Paula M Mikkelsen, Rudiger Bieler, and Bennet Bronson, Published by Harry N Abrams, Inc c 2001
(xii) Beyond Price, Pearls and Pearl-Fishing: Origins to the age of Discoveries, By R. A Donkin, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, c 1998
(xiii) The Pearl, Sylvia Malaguzzi., Rizzoli Press, New York c. 2000
(xiv) Gems & Gemology summer 1995 Article History of Pearling in La Paz Bay, South Baja California, By Michelle Carino and Mario Monteforte pgs 88-104
(xv) Field Museum of Chicago--www.fieldmuseum.org/pearls/index.html
(xvi) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pearl
(xvii) http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/pearls/index.html