What makes Tahitian pearls black rather than white?
It takes years of careful care to cultivate a single pearl, a fact that’s reflected in its expensive cost. More rare, though, is the Tahitian black pearl, which is cultivated exclusively in French Polynesia.Black OystersThe Tahitian pearl is naturally black because it is grown inside the black-lipped oyster called Pinctada margaritifera. It exudes a natural black pigment that makes the pearl a shade between black and gray.White PearlsWhite pearls are created in a different type of oyster, the Pinctada maxima, which can grow as large as a dinner plate.Pearl SourceBlack pearls begin naturally as a grain of sand, but man cultivates them by prying open the oyster’s valves and inserting a bead. The oyster tries to protect itself from this irritant by coating it with black saliva.Years to ProduceThe black saliva, called nacre, coats the irritant for at least two years, creating an iridescent object known as the black pearl.PrismThe nacre acts as a prism that reflects light in different ways,