Why are pearls different colors?

A pearls natural color is highly determinant on the type of oyster species and the color of the "lip" of the type of oyster from which it was borne. The "lip" refers to the fringe of the inner part of the oyster, that has a unique band of color hues within it.

Our naturally Gold South Sea pearls are produced by the "gold lipped" variant of the Pinctada Maxima oyster, the same species of oyster that is responsible for White South Sea pearls that are produced by a "white-silver lipped".

However Black South Sea pearls are derived from a slightly different species of oysters called Pintada Margeritifera, which happened to be... you guessed it... "black lipped".

So which pearl color is considered the best?

We have always believed that the best pearl color is the one that suits you best.  Our only insistance from our partner pearl farmers is that our pearls be totally of natural color meaning that they have not gone through any chemical treatments to artificially enhance color.  

So Oceana Pearls only carries naturally colored pearls?

Yes, but there is the one exception. Although Akoya pearls can be naturally white, they are extremely rare, and more often than not are more ivory color than white. As a result Akoya pearls have been for decades, color enhanced as a standard practice.

It is fact that nearly 99% of all Japanese Akoya pearls harvest undergo a process prior to export called "Mae-shori" or more simply put, bleaching. Mae-shori is so common that the Japanese government body that regulates pearl production (Japanese Pearl Export Association) regards it as process that is inherent to all Japanese Akoya cultured pearls.