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30 mars 2025
Poemotu was the first jewellery brand in mainland France specialising in Tahiti pearls to provide you with a certificate, initially according to Papeete's standards, the famous A B C D.
Indeed, by the late 2000s, while the certificate was provided with every jewel in Tahiti, only grey or black Tahiti pearls of often medium quality, without a certificate of origin and authenticity, were sold in mainland France, which guaranteed the traceability of your acquisition.
Did you know that only Tahiti pearls cultivated in French Polynesia are guaranteed to have natural colour and shape? Papeete guarantees the authenticity of all pearls from the French archipelagos, as the harvests must obligatorily pass through Tahiti's pearl farming office before being sold.
A certificate meeting Papeete's classification standards is issued by jewellers in French Polynesia and a few in mainland France, which Poemotu provided until 2011.
Only Poemotu quickly gained international recognition and from 2012, we adopted classification according to the GIA after obtaining accreditation certificates to be more widely understood.
The Tahiti pearls selected by Béatrice Brothier, gemologist and founder of Poemotu, originate exclusively from the Tuamotu-Gambier, providing the best source of very bright lustres, unique colours, and exceptional nacre quality.
THE SHAPE
- Round: Tahitian cultured pearl tolerates only a maximum 2% variation in its diameter.
- Semi-Round (Or Oval): Tahitian cultured pearl spherical with a diameter variation between 2 and 5%.
- Semi-Baroque: Tahitian cultured pearl in a drop or button shape. The diameter varies by more than 5%, but still shows an axis of symmetry.
- Baroque: Tahitian cultured pearl with no defined shape (irregular), offering no axis of symmetry and not fitting into the aforementioned categories.
- Circled: Tahitian cultured pearl with one or more concentric circles, which can be found on Oval or Semi-Baroque Pearls.
- The surface condition is evaluated using different criteria: inclusions, striations, organic deposits, wrinkles, grooves, depressions, bumps, growths, or milky depigmentation spots.
- The luster corresponds to the more or less perfect reflection of light on the surface of the Tahiti Pearl. It depends on the regularity, thickness, and arrangement of the pearl layers.
- A very beautiful luster corresponds to the total reflection of light, giving a mirror effect. A Tahiti Pearl without luster will have a matte appearance.
- The Orient is the colour that emanates from the Tahiti Pearl; it is revealed by immersing the pearl in a white container that does not reflect light on its surface. The Tahiti Pearl then reveals other colours than those initially visible, often indicating an unprecedented intense emotion as the owner discovers one or more new shades.
- The surface quality of Tahitian cultured pearls according to the Gemmological Institute of America is noted as follows (for Tahiti classification and French regulations, AAA corresponds to A, AA to B, and A to C; there's no D equivalent for the GIA, with evaluation nuances to compensate):
- TOP GEM: Tahitian cultured pearl showing no imperfections and possessing excellent luster
- AAA Category: Tahiti Pearl showing at most one slight imperfection or group of minor imperfections covering at most 10% of its surface. Excellent to Very beautiful luster.
- AA Category: Pearl showing a few minor imperfections concentrated on at most 30% of its surface. Very beautiful to beautiful luster.
- A Category: Pearl showing minor imperfections concentrated on at most 60% of its surface. Beautiful luster.
- (D Category of Tahiti classification): Tahitian cultured pearls having: - either minor imperfections over more than 60% of the surface without deep imperfections, or minor and deep imperfections concentrated on at most 60% of its surface. No or weak luster.
Measured with calipers by diameter (in width for Semi-Baroques)
They range from 7 mm (in 2020, diameters of 6mm began to appear) for the smallest to 22mm... The latter are purely exceptional
The most sold ones average 9/10mm
From 11 mm, they are rarer and result from at least a second graft of the host nacre
Tahiti Pearls over 15 mm are exceptional, and if they are round, of rare colour and without imperfection, they become even more coveted by lovers of this Tahiti Pearl so enchanting.
At POEMOTU, we love to introduce you to colourful Tahitian cultured pearls such as Peacock, Pink Pacific Sunset, Blue or Lagoon Green, Aubergine, or Fly's Wing. We also provide the blackest or lightest shades for every taste!
These colours are natural and vary according to the origin of the graft introduced along with the nucleus, as well as the breeding or lagoon. The Tahiti Pearls sold at POEMOTU are all sourced from the Tuamotu-Gambiers, where the lagoons are richest in trace elements and metallic salts, helping to achieve the most beautiful colours.
Tahiti Pearls with brighter colours are more expensive in their category for a simple reason: to obtain a Tahiti Pearl of this colour, the grafter places the graft closer to the edge of the nacre, and the higher, riskier exposure of this future Tahiti Pearl makes it all the more rare and exceptional when it emerges round and with few inclusions.
