Tahitian Pearl Farms: Tahitian Black Pearls
History of Tahitian Pearl Production
The term "Tahitian pearl" is a somewhat of a misnomer, as this particular pearl variety is not actually from Tahiti. Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, which is located east of Australia, in the South Pacific. Although Tahiti is the namesake for the "Tahitian pearl," most pearl culturing farms are found on other islands in the territory west of Tahiti, or in the Tuamotu archipelago island chain east of Tahiti. Kokichi Mikimoto and Ryukyu Pearls began marketing the "Tahitian Black Pearl" in the early 1900s. Prior to this, Okinawa Japan was the only source of black-lipped cultured pearls.
Tuamotu Pearls
The tiny atoll of Hikueru, located in the center of the Tuamotu atoll chain, has been at the center of the Tahitian pearl industry for over a century. The Tuamotu archipelago was first discovered in 1521, by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, but the island chain was officially claimed as French territory by navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville, in 1768.
Tahitian Pearl Farms (Photo, Left: NASA, Public Domain)
Hikueru was a natural breeding ground for the "black-lipped" oyster, host to the famous "black pearl." In Jack London's book "South Sea Tales," he recounts the 1903 cyclone that devastated the area, wiping out the pearling industry. In the book he wrote of Hikueru's pearls: "Mapuhi has found a pearl, such a pearl. Never was there one like it ever fished up in Hikueru, nor in all the Paumotus, nor in all the world."
The Tuamotu archipelago island chain, situated 300 km east of Tahiti, consists of 78 circular reef lagoons or atolls. These atoll lagoons are surrounded by chains of low islets called motu, which barley protrude above sea-level, and are linked by sand-bars. Fakarava, Rangiroa, Manihi and Tikehau are the main pearl atolls, having motus that are dotted with 'pearl farms' which are little more than tiny bungalows perched on stilts over the water.
The cultured Tahitian pearl industry got its start in the early 1960s, when Japanese Akoya-style pearl cultivation was tried on the blacklipped oyster. Cultured pearl farming was first attempted on Hikueru in the Tuamotu islands, and Bora Bora in French Polynesia by Jean-Marie Dormand, considered the "father" of cultured black pearl farming. The first privately owned pearl farm was started on the atoll of Manihi, in 1966.
French Polynesia Pearls
The primary sources for pearl farming in the 'Leeward Islands' (Îles Sous-le-Vent) of French Polynesia are Tahaa, Huahine and Raiatea, some 200 km north-west of Tahiti. Raiatea is the second largest of the Society Islands (Archipel de la Société) in French Polynesia. Huahine is two separated islands connected by a sandspit. The big island to the north is known as "Big Huahine" (Huahine Nui) and Little Huahine is called (Huahine Iti).
French Polynesia (Photo, Left: Public Domain)
Pearl farms are scattered throughout the many shallow lagoons that surround the islands, dotted with vanilla plantations. Tahaa's Poerani, Motu, and Vaipoe pearl farms are open for public tours.
The Pinctada Margaritifera "Black-Lipped" Oyster
Tahitian Pearls are found in a mollusk that is native to the islands of French Polynesia. This bivalve mollusk is called the "black-lipped" oyster, or Pinctada Margaritifera cumingi. The outside edges of the oyster shell and edges of the mantle are black in color. The black-lipped oyster is found in a wide geographic area from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of California and can grow to 12 inches in length.
Tahitian Pearl Farms (Photos: Public Domain)
In nature, the black-lipped oyster can live up to 30 years, grow up to a foot in diameter and weigh up to 1 pound. During its pearl producing years (ages 3 to 7), the black-lipped oyster is usually between 6 and 8 inches in diameter. Throughout their life-cycle, the oysters must be removed from the water every few months to be washed clean of any algae growth. Mantel obtained from a few sacrificial oysters is used for implantation (aka grafts) in the remainder. After implantation, the oysters are suspended from keep nets to protect them from predators, while the pearls are formed.
Black-lipped oyster pearls are unique because of their natural dark colors. This black-lipped mollusk secrets a dark colored pigment during the nacre building phase. Most Tahitian "black pearls" are not actually black, but are actually silver, gray, or charcoal. Pure black pearls are extremely rare. Many black pearls get their coloring through artificial means, using either radiation or dye (French Dying) to "enhance" their color. French Dying can produce an extremely durable finish that can penetrate deep into the nacre. The most valuable "black" pearls have what is known as a "peacock green" overtone or color component.
Chocolate Pearls
So called "Chocolate Pearls" are a created or 'enhanced' by modifying the natural pearl's "melanin pigment" color using proprietary techniques developed by companies such as Ballerina Pearl Company of New York, and Shanghai Gems S.A of Geneva. Chocolate pearls have an unusual copper, bronze, or rust-brown color with strong iridescent overtones. With legitimate chocolate pearls, no dyes or coloring agents are used to create the color, and the price can be very expensive when compared with other Tahitian varieties.
Gellner Chocolate Pearls (left), Zobel Tahitian Pearl (right)
Dyed "chocolate pearls" would fall under a lesser category as a "treated" pearl, justifying a significantly lower price. According to the GIA, the 'chocolate' color is obtained using a bleaching process and heating applied to fancy-colored Tahitian pearls. The process can be identified by characteristic fluorescence, trace-element composition, and unique spectroscopic signature.
Bibliography & Suggestions for Further Study on Tahitian Pearls
1. Pearl Guide, Tahitian Pearls  . www.pearl-guide.com
2. American Museum of Natural History, Pearls . www.amnh.org
3. U.N. Food & Agriculture Org., Pearl Oyster Taxonomy & Distribution . www.fao.org
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