Few places on earth combine exotic, remote, and enchanting like the island of Tahiti. Its lagoons are home to the Pinctada Margaritifera, commonly known as the black lip oyster, who births some of the world’s most sought-after pearls.
Tahitian pearls are coveted for their brilliant iridescence and range of vibrant colours. There are three colours unique to the pearls of Tahiti: peacock, the rarest colour, a greenish black that sometimes has a hint of magenta; aubergine, a blackish purple; and pistachio, a yellowish shade of green.
The chances of finding a naturally-formed Tahitian pearl is incredibly slim. Cultured pearl farms like Robert Wan Pearls (www.robertwan.com) - recognized the world over for exceptional quality, remarkable size, and incredible lustre by fashion houses and jewellers such as Chanel, Dupont, Harry Winston, and Tiffany - delicately nurse, nurture, and clean oysters for five years before producing a quality pearl of Tahitian standard. Any less time and the necessary layers of iridescent nacre, or mother-of-pearl, won’t sufficiently develop.
Each pearl is meticulously studied in order to accurately grade it according to five principal values: size, shape, shade, lustre, and surface. Pearls larger than 12mm, round, peacock in colour, high in shine, and clean are the most desirable and valuable, but the stones are also available in fascinating colours like grey and cherry, and interesting shapes like semi-round, oval, button, drop, semi-baroque, baroque, and circle.
Many pearl shops, like the Bora Pearl Company (www.borapearl.com), offer visitors the opportunity to create custom jewellery. After selecting your own pearls, a shop artisan will craft a unique piece of jewellery as you watch. For the more adventurous, arrange to dive in the lagoons of Bora Bora to untie a string of oysters and pull the catch up to the surface. Pick the most promising looking oyster, and a local grafter will carefully pry it open, hopefully revealing an exquisite pearl of your very own. If the pearl you pick has too many imperfections, trade it for one valued at US$300 or the cost of the dive.
