Gold Pearls One of the largest and rarest pearls found around the world is Gold in color. They are Golden South Sea pearls, cultured in the Philippine Islands. Golden South Sea pearls have only been available to pearl lovers since the late 1970s, and are known as the “Rolls Royce” of cultured pearls.
The Australian South Sea Pearls are the Jewels of the Ocean and are the rarest and most highly prized pearls in the world. They are known as the Queen of Pearls.
The most classic and widely preferred pearl color is white. The white pearl is considered a symbol of purity, and is often associated with wedding and graduation celebrations.
As white pearls are by far the most common, they are generally considered less expensive than black pearls. However, their value is actually determined by how and where they are produced, their shape and size, and their lustre.
The Rarity of Blue Pearls
It's exceptionally rare to run into a blue pearl in any of these pearl types, even though blue pearls are found almost everywhere – Tahitian, Freshwater, South Sea, and Akoya. Blue Akoya pearls were outcasts at one time in the pearl industry, but have since recently gained renewed popularity.
Up to 4,000 pearls are cultured in these waters each year, making them the rarest of cultured pearls in the world.
Perhaps the best-loved gems of all time, pearls—both natural and modern cultured pearls—occur in a wide variety of colors. The most familiar colors are white and cream (a light yellowish brown). Black, gray, and silver are also fairly common, but the palette of pearl colors extends to every hue.
Some of the world's most expensive pearls are so notoriously difficult to successfully produce and harvest that they are 'rarer than gold'.
Grey pearls reflect qualities like dignity, patience, wisdom, progress, self-control, focus and security.
The luster of good quality pearls is sharp and bright. You should be able to see your reflection clearly on the surface of a pearl. Any pearl that appears too white, dull or chalky, is of low quality.
White and Golden South Sea pearls are the largest and most luxurious of all cultured pearl types on the market today. Often called the “Queen of Pearls”, South Sea pearls feature a gorgeous palette of natural Golden and White colors that shimmer with delicate overtones and are simply unmistakable.
The most common color for pearls is white, cream, pink, purple, but they also come in colors such as champagne, chocolate, blue, gold, silver and lavender. Some pearls have stunning overtones that exhibit multicolors.
Diamonds can often come at a higher price than pearls.
South Sea pearls are often referred to as the Rolls Royce of pearls. They are the largest and most valuable pearls grown today, with average sizes ranging from 10 to 15 millimeters.
La Peregrina is the most famous pearl in the world. Its history spans almost 500 years. In recent history it belonged to actress Elizabeth Taylor. The original weight of this pear-shaped pearl was 55.95 carats, 11.2 g.
Black Pearl Meaning
Black pearls are also said to offer protection to the wearer, and are sometimes believed to have special powers or to bring luck, prosperity and success.
A true black Tahitian pearl is extremely rare, and largely considered one of the most beautiful kinds of pearls in the world. Most Tahitian pearls that are identified as “black” are actually charcoal grey, silver, or dark green.
Purple pearls symbolize artistry, wisdom, complexity, nobility, and passion. Purple pearls are great for those in the teaching and philosophy professions where education is paramount. Blue Pearls. Blue pearls represent truth, tranquility, trust, and courage.
February babies have the rarest birthstone of all. Diamond (April) is the rarest birthstone in a total of six states, while topaz (November) is the rarest birthstone in Montana, Wyoming, and Rhode Island.
Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades. By the year 2004, there were less than 2 dozens known gemstones.
Natural pearls are formed over time, and will change color as they age. Natural pearls are organic and made of calcium carbonate, which is commonly found in oysters' shells. Natural pearls come in a wide range of colors, including white, cream and black—and can be dyed any color.
Tahitian pearls are the only naturally-occurring dark colored pearls. Their color ranges from light gray to dark gray and green with overtones of greens, blues and purple. Tahitian pearls with peacock color, or green-gray to blue-gray body color and pink to purple overtone, are a favorite.
It's often assumed that because something's old it must be valuable. That's rarely true and certainly not for pearls. Advances in technology and culturing techniques mean you can buy a much better set of pearls for far less money than in grandma's time.