NEED some tahitian education

[Bailey1856]

I've purchased some loose pearls recently for a project (A grades) and was just comparing them to the pearls from my strand. For future reference I'd like to know more about body color. The pearl on the left is the A grade (i'd call it an opaque blue, color is on the surface) and the left is AAA (translucent, color is from inside the pearl). My question is is the left one more of a charcoal body color and the left one a dove grey with blue overtone?

 

[GemGeek]

I'm assuming by A you mean on the AAA to A scale. The body color is best seen near the edge of the pearl, where overtone trails off. If the overtone is very strong it can overwhelm the body color and basically be the color of the pearl. You make good observations. The pearl on the right is more translucent. It's easier to tell the color differences when you have them in front of you and can roll them around.

Both beautiful pearls!

 

[Bailey1856]

"The body color is best seen near the edge of the pearl, where overtone trails off. If the overtone is very strong it can overwhelm the body color and basically be the color of the pearl".

Thanks GemGeek. That is a very helpful info.