Tahitian pearls
-the mythical black pearls
The pearl comes from the Tahitian pearl mussel, Pinctada margaritifera.
Pinctada margaritifera is a species of mussel that was first scientifically described by Carl von Linné in 1758.
The name "margaritifera" comes from the Greek word "margaritari" meaning pearl.
The pearl oyster is found in the Pacific Ocean and lives on coral reefs. Cultivation takes place mainly on coral atolls in French Polynesia, where Tahiti is the main island and in Micronesia.
Like all pearls grown in mussels, the Tahitian pearl consists of mother-of-pearl, the same substance as in the shell of the pearl mussel.
The unique colour of the Tahitian pearls comes from the dark ribbon that this species has at the outer rim of the inside of the shell. This dark band resembles a pair of lips and is what gave the oyster its name in English "Black-lip pearl oyster".
Nature decides what colors the pearl gets, but as said, it origins from the mother of pearl.
The colours vary from dark black which is very rare to completely white. Most common are very beautiful peacock green tones and silvery shades.
The Black Pearl is the name of Jack Sparrow's ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. This has made the concept of black pearls more widely known.
Wild pearls have been found in the Polynesian legends in all times:
"The mother of our pearls is called Te Ufi. She is the daughter of Okana (spirit of the coral) and Varo (spirit of the sand). She is adorned with a glittering dress made of every fish in her water. She was so beautiful that Oro (the god of peace and fertility) came down to earth on a rainbow and gave her the pearl as a gift to the people. Te Ufi's dress and Oro's rainbow gave the colour to our pearls. "
Cultivation of Tahitian pearls
The cultivation of Tahitian pearls was first successful in the 1960s, although attempts have been made since the early 20th century.
Mr. Jean-Marie Domard and Mr. Churoku Muroi started trials of the cultivation of Tahiti pearls in the Lagoon of Hikueru.
Jean-Marie Dumard in the centre
Churoku Muroi was an expert in Kokichi Mikimoto's methods of growing Akoya pearls developed in Japan in the early 20th century.
Churoku was from Japan but engaged in the cultivation of South Sea pearls in Australia. The first harvest was presented in 1965 and the pearls were called Bora Bora pearls after the island of the same name.
Churoku Muroi grafting tahitian pearls in the 60's
Tahitian pearl oysters becomes very large and produce very large pearls, up to about 20mm. They can grow up to 30 years old and weigh 5 kilos with a size of 30cm.
Today there are almost only cultured pearls available and they are very rarely less than 8mm.
Cultivation technology is developed, refined and controlled in some cases by patents.
The growers' goal is to get as much beads as possible to the absolute highest quality and most beautiful colour. The loss of mussels where no pearls have formed or the pearl is not of sufficient quality is very large.
The mussels, the environment, the grafting procedure, the care and skill of the person who performs the grafting are some things that affect this.
Unlike other pearl mussel species, only one or a few pearls are inoculated at a time. The mussels are about 2 years old when they are large enough to create pearls and they are harvested after 5-7 years.
The grafting is basically done by surgically inserting a pearl made from mother of pearl into the host mussel along with a piece of tissue from a donor mussle. The mussel's natural defenses against foreign objects encapsulate the piece of tissue and mother-of-pearl into a pearl sack. In the pearl sack, the foreign pearl is encapsulated in layer after layer of pearl crystals until a pearl with the host mussel mother of pearl has formed.
When a pearl is harvested from a mussel, a new larger pearl can often be grafted into the pearl sack for another harvest. The pearls then gradually become larger but the shine and colors are often less beautiful which makes the perfect large beads extremely rare.
The mussels must be cleaned from algae growth several times a year, which is done completely manually.
When a beautiful pearl can be set in a piece of jewelry, there is a very large effort, craftmens knowledge and skill and long time of growing before this could happen.
Hikueru Atoll where the first plantations started in French Polynesia