How To Pick Tahitian Color?

[ltlmsmfft]

In the next 6 months I am planning on buying either a round Tahitian necklace or a blue madama. Either of these would be a "holy grail" piece for me. The blue madamas would be easy as I know I like the darkest blues and pinks most; but, Tahitian strands come in SO many shades! I know I would want uniform colors, so I would special order this piece; but, the thing I and stuck on is which color to buy. I have a multicolored baroque strand; but, I only have one single pendant in a round Tahitian that is more of a dark gray color. I *think* I want either a blue stand OR a cherry strand (leaning towards blue) or possible peacock; but, it is such a huge decision. If you can only buy one strand like this...how do you pick the right color for you? Should I try to but loose pearls in each color so I can see them in person l? A trip to PP is not in the cards for me and the local jewelry stores only seem to have round gray Tahitians.

 

[Bailey1856]

The overtones you are thinking of are all beautiful. I would determine first which skin tone you are, cool or warm then ask PP for natural light pictures of round strands with blue, cherry, and peacock overtones that are suitable for your skin tone. There is a thread called RIKItea strand that have lots of pictures/description of round blue strands for you to use as reference. Someone here also has pictures of round cherry strands if you search for it.

 

[ennui]

It's important to remember that the Tahitians will look different in various light sources. Even just now, I noticed that my silver Tahitian earrings looked much darker and more vibrant, so that they seemed like completely different earrings. In the morning light, they will be back to "normal."

If you have your heart set on a certain tone, maybe the madamas would work better for you?

 

[bsomlo]

Keep in mind that "blue" akoya lean more towards silver than blue. You can ask for more concentrated blue, but it will still be a pale silver/blue with overtones of teal and pink. It seems to me that baroque silver/blue akoya can be darker than madama.

 

[dk168]

My advice to the OP is to try and see as many Tahitians in person as possible, to try them on, and see which body colour/overtone you like or suits you the most, e.g. by visiting a vendor with a large inventory or attend a gem show with pearls as part of the show.

Colour preferences are very personal, and I realised peacock/cherry/aubergine/etc. are not for me after purchasing a pair of 10mm earrings with medium dark body colour with light peacock overtone from PP a while ago.

These were my third Tahitian purchases. My first was a strand of light body colour green overtone baroques (great eBay find) that I wear regularly whenever the occasion allows; plus a strand of larger baroque Tahitians from PP during one of its sales back in 2008 that I wear infrequently (I chose it based on its size and availability as the ones with nicer colours had already been snapped up by the others who were quicker off the mark).

The PP earrings are very nice earrings, and I wear them regularly as part of my daily earrings wardrobe. However, they just look a tad brown to me, and the peacock overtone is difficult to detect in most lighting conditions.

After purchasing that pair of earrings, I went to HK to visit my folks, and went to a tiny shop packed full of pearls in a mall, and the owner kindly showed me all sorts of pearls, including some very nice Tahitians and SSPs, and I discovered the joys of blue/green Tahitians.

I walked away from that shop with a pair of 12mm Tahitian earrings with dark body colour and blue overtone, and a strand of semi-round SSP necklace.

Earlier during the same trip in HK, I also purchased a Tahitian pearl brooch in the form of an insect in a shop in the jade district, with a large baroque pearl with blue/green overtones, so lovely that I had to have it!

Since that trip, I realised I love blue/green in medium to light body colours, and have not looked at other colours since.

My holy grail Tahitian strand is a strand of round pearls with medium to light body colour with blue overtone in 11-13mm or larger. PP's recent listings of Rikitea pearls was a feast to my eyes. However, they were too small for my requirements and I am not in the market for more pearls right now.

Good luck to the OP with your search and purchase!

DK

 

[icy_jade]

If it's your holy grail piece and you plan to spend good money on it, I echo dk's suggestion to see pearls in person. What you like may not be what you look the best in and I'm speaking from personal experience.

A few years ago if you'd asked me what I most want for body color, I would have said "blue" without hesitation cos I like blue and it's rare (and the idea of having a rare color attracts me). Now that I've tried various colors, blue is no longer my top choice.

E.g. Here's a pic of my charm bracelet with 3 of the special pp pearls - from left to right, green with peacock overtones, dark blue and green with intense purple overtone that almost masks the green body color. IRL they look green, dark blue and intense purple:



Of these three pearls/colors, the purple one is the most outstanding and complementary to my skin, followed by the green, and then only the dark blue.

If buying loose pearls is an option, perhaps you can get a few colors in a bracelet or tincup. Be sure to ask for body colors and not just overtones. Body colors are a lot more reliable and consistent than overtones, though overtones definitely add another dimension to the pearl and are essential, imo, in a holy grail strand. If you can, ask for specific combinations like blue body with green overtone, green body with peacock overtone etc. Also the bodies come in different shades so be sure to ask for dark/light colors, etc.

Good luck with your search and do let us know when you have found "the one"!

 

[ltlmsmfft]

Thank you all for such wonderful advice! I checked the prices on the Tahitian tin cup bracelets and that is very affordable for a "normal" purchase for me. I think I will order one of those with specific colors first to see what looks best in person.

This may be a silly question; but, do you all find that the same colors that look good on you in clothing also work for Tahitian pearl colors? That is kind of what I have been basing my decision on so far.

 

[dk168]

I had my colour analysed a while back, and it confirmed what I knew, in that earthy tones such as brown, beige, peachy etc. do not suit me. Yellow metal does not suit me whereas white metal does.

I am a "Winter" and primary and secondary colours work well for my hair and skin tone. I can only wear yellow in very small doses.

And lime green is out, gutted as it is one of my favourite colours!

So yes, based on my personal experience, the colours of pearls that I like is reflected on the colours that I like in clothes.

DK

 

[icy_jade]

This may be a silly question; but, do you all find that the same colors that look good on you in clothing also work for Tahitian pearl colors? That is kind of what I have been basing my decision on so far.

Not a silly question at all! I used to wonder the same before I accumulated my collection. Now that I have all sorts of colors, my answer is "mostly yes but not always".

I know, doesn't sound very helpful but it's true! E.g. Using those three bracelet charm pearls as an example, I wear loads of blue (e.g. Navy blue), but dark blue t's don't look all that great on me. I do wear maroons and purples, but seldom wear green (so maybe I should wear green more!). I never wear pastels and peachy colors like pinks, light lavenders, peach and cream cos I look ghastly in them, and indeed such fwp colors look absolutely horrid on me. Oh, and I never wear yellow/gold but I buy GSSPs anyway. But generally I find the cool vs warm tones thing serve as a good guide.

 

[akoya]

err i have more red undertones near my chest/neck area so i will to have to test them out. for me, blisters r something i find hard to accept so i only settle for Tahitian pendant.

on the pic, i find the 2nd one from left best compliment the skin tone but the 3rd one seem to have a better luster.

 

[pkinnew]

I think you've received a lot of great advice! I don't think I can help much because I seem to like Tahitians in all different colors!