Copyright © 2012 Pearl Necklace. All Rights Reserved. Snowblind by Themes by bavotasan.com. Powered by WordPress.
I’ve talked about brown pearls before, but in all honesty it’s not just any type of brown that’s garnering publicity lately. So-called “chocolate” Tahitian pearls are a very specific, rare, type of pearl that has come into vogue over the last decade. I thought I’d give you a little more information about these pearls – what to look for, where the color comes from, and who sells them.
Sometime around the year 2000, Ballerina Pearl in New York began to sell chocolate pearls created through a unique treatment process. Truly uniform brown isn’t a natural color – in fact, most brown Tahitians have red or purple overtones – but Ballerina Pearl created this color through a combination of bleach and heat. It is a proprietary process that they maintain preserves the integrity of the pearl without using dye. Basically, the color is stripped to reveal brown underneath. These pearls are in short supply and demand was high, so, naturally, knock-offs began to enter the market in droves. If you want true chocolate pearls watch out – the knock offs are usually dyed using a silver nitrate process in order to mimic the real thing.
It’s not so much dyed freshwater pearls that has the pearl industry upset. Rather, they object to dyeing Tahitians because they are considered a high integrity pearl rather than one that is mass-produced. Jewelers also worry that retailers will price gouge customers without disclosing the true nature of the pearls they carry. If you just want a beautiful chocolate color – stick to freshwater pearls. Irradiating freshwater pearls is easy to do without sacrificing anything. Dyed chocolate Tahitians lose some of their beautiful luster, whereas the bleached kind are usually extremely high quality.
Now, after the mini-rant/explanation….you’re probably wondering why anyone would choose brown in the first place. It’s not a color that tops many women’s list of favorites, after all. That’s a shame, I think. Brown is a color that suits and flatters many different skin tones and, because it’s a neutral color, can be paired with anything. Fall, with its deep, rich, colors, almost demands that women wear brown! Chocolate pearl necklaces may be just what you’re looking for to achieve that dramatic fall look.
Chocolate freshwater pearls can be found just about anywhere, but where should you go for Tahitians? As far as I know, Ballerina Pearl Co. was the first company to use a bleaching process rather than dye, but I’ve heard that Shanghai Gems may use a similar process. It seems that Ballerina sells most of their pearls to Emiko Pearls in Bellevue, Washington. From there, they are sold to designer Erica Courtney (who provides many celebrities with their red carpet jewelry) and jeweler Paul Johnson in Houston, Texas. As you can see, getting real chocolate pearls is difficult and most likely expensive. That’s why there’s so many dyed pearls on the market.
In short, chocolate pearls are created through a unique bleaching process because a true, uniform brown doesn’t occur in nature. They are rare because there are few companies that distribute them, though if you’re okay with dye, you will have a much easier time buying some of your own. I really don’t have anything against dye, personally, but I do dislike it when retailers aren’t completely honest about their merchandise. As always, buyer beware.
Related posts:
- Brown Pearls – Better Than You Think
- Fall Pearl Necklace – Best Colors for Fall 2010
- Colored Pearl Necklace – What Are Your Options?
Disclosure: This site receives compensation through VigLink. Clicking on or making a purchase through links on this page may yield a commission for Pearl Necklace unless specifically mentioned otherwise.