South Sea pearls span pure white, silver, champagne and deep golden — a colour set by the oyster that grew them, never added afterwards. A farm-side tour of the spectrum and how to pick yours.

A working farmer's tour of the Pinctada genus — Pinctada maxima, Pinctada margaritifera and Pinctada fucata compared as living animals, and how each one's biology decides the pearls it grows.

Gold South Sea pearls take their colour from the gold-lipped Pinctada maxima oyster itself — never from dye. Here's how the shades run, why deep gold is so scarce, and how we grade them.

Real pearl prices computed from our live catalog of 600+ pieces — June 2026. Median prices for Tahitian, South Sea and Akoya pearls by size band and jewellery type, with the honest reasons behind every price jump.