Pink is the color freshwater pearls do best. Saltwater pearls come out of the oyster white, cream or grey, and a "pink" akoya is a white pearl with a faint rosy overtone. Freshwater mussels are different. The same mussel that grows white pearls also grows pearls whose body color is pink all the way through, from pale blush to peach to a warm apricot, and no dye is involved. Every pink pearl in this collection is that kind: natural body color, never dyed, never treated.
How to tell natural pink from dyed
Dyed pink pearls are common, and they are easy to spot once you know the signs. Dye pools where the nacre is thinnest, so look at the drill hole: a dyed pearl has a darker ring around it, a natural one does not. Dyed strands are also too even. Nature does not produce forty pearls of exactly the same pink, so a natural strand has slight variation from pearl to pearl and a glow that seems to come from inside the pearl rather than sit on the surface. We match our strands within a tight range, but you will still see that the color lives in the nacre. The pearl grading page explains how we sort for color, luster and surface.
What pink pearls cost, and why
In freshwater pearls, pink costs the same as white. A 7.5–8 mm High Grade pink necklace is $135 here, the same as its white twin, and a Gem Grade strand starts at $275. That is not true elsewhere in the pearl world. Natural pink saltwater pearls, such as conch pearls, run to thousands of dollars a carat, which is why "pink pearls" has a reputation for being expensive. Freshwater farming changed that. Pink is a normal outcome of a freshwater harvest, so you pay for size, roundness and luster, not for the color.
Who pink pearls suit
Pink pearls flatter warm and neutral skin tones and anyone who finds bright white pearls a little stark. They sit well against cream, camel, navy and denim, and they pair naturally with rose gold or yellow gold. A single 7.5–8 mm strand or a bracelet is the usual first piece; the pearl sizing guide shows how each size wears. For the full range of colors freshwater pearls come in, see the pearl colors guide.
