What a Tahitian cultured pearl is

People often say black pearl, but Tahiti Tourisme notes that the accurate term is cultured pearl: the pearl results from a graft performed on an oyster with black lips and a dark body, Pinctada margaritifera, raised in the lagoons. It owes its colour to the oyster, not to dye or irradiation, which sets it apart from dark pearls of other origins. The Direction des ressources marines (DRM), the authority for pearl farming, describes a palette of hues with no equivalent: cherry, cream, peacock feather, green, blue, grey, white.

The usual size runs from 8 to 14 millimetres; beyond 18 millimetres the DRM speaks of exceptionally rare pieces. Shapes fall into round and semi-round, oval and button, drop, circled, semi-baroque and baroque. The trade is governed by country law no. 2017-16 of 18 July 2017, which regulates the professional activities linked to the production and sale of pearl and mother-of-pearl products; the DRM issues the trade’s professional cards and offers the farms a charter of good practice.

The farms of the Tuamotu and the Gambier

Most Tahitian cultured pearls come from the lagoons of the Tuamotu and the Gambier. In the Tuamotu, Tahiti Tourisme presents Manihi as the cradle of the cultured pearl: farming began there in 1968 and the atoll still has a dozen farms. On Rangiroa, a farm receives visitors Monday to Friday, at 9:30 and 14:00, and shows grafting or harvesting depending on the time of year, for 1,000 XPF per adult (8.38 EUR) and 500 XPF per child under 12. On Fakarava the oldest farm on the atoll runs a lottery during grafting and harvest periods. Even Tahiti has a farm, at Taiarapu-Ouest on the peninsula, which appears in Tahiti Tourisme’s directory.

In the Gambier, four hours away by air, the pearl farms are visible on arrival at Rikitea, on Mangareva; the commune counted 124 pearl farmers in July 2024. Tahiti Tourisme credits their reputation to know-how and to cooler water; dealers and jewellers come to buy them on the spot. Rikitea houses the country’s only mother-of-pearl engraving school, open to visitors during the school year, which sells the pupils’ jewellery.

The Leeward Islands and visiting a farm

In the Leeward Islands, Taha’a and Huahine each have pearl farming open to visitors. On Taha’a a family farm explains pearl production and grading in detail; combined tours take in a vanilla plantation, a pearl farm and a rum distillery in a day, with a demonstration of the grafting of Pinctada margaritifera. On Huahine the island’s only pearl farm offers a visit described as instructive, paired with a pottery workshop. Tahiti Tourisme also lists Taha’a among the islands known for pearl farms, alongside vanilla.

A farm visit generally follows the same thread: the oysters raised in the lagoon, the graft, which the farms of Taha’a and Rangiroa show to visitors, then the harvest and the sorting of the pearls. Many farms end with a shop where you buy directly from the producer; Tahiti Tourisme says this is possible on Huahine, Taha’a, in the Tuamotu and in the Gambier. The opening hours on the organisation’s listings are not always confirmed; the agency checks the visit and its price for your dates.

How a pearl is graded

The Direction des ressources marines grades surface quality in five categories. TOP GEM: perfect quality, no flaw. A: minute flaws that are hard to see. B: very slight imperfections. C: imperfections on less than two thirds of the surface. D: fairly marked irregularities. Tahiti Tourisme summarises the same scale, from Perfect to D, and states that a pearl is judged on five criteria: lustre, surface, colour, size and shape.

Lustre is the way the pearl returns light; a very fine lustre, the DRM says, amounts to total reflection, a mirror effect. As a rule, the larger the diameter and the rounder the shape, the higher the value; for connoisseurs, colour and lustre remain the decisive criteria. The price therefore depends on size, shape, colour, lustre and setting; pearls of the finest quality are sold mounted on 18-carat gold, white or yellow. No official source consulted publishes a price scale.

Buying with a certificate

The advice of the Direction des ressources marines fits in one line: make sure of the pearl’s origin and quality by asking your jeweller for a certificate of authenticity. Tahiti Tourisme says the same and adds that you should visit several shops during your stay before deciding; they are found in the large hotels, on cruise ships and in the tourist areas, in addition to the farms themselves. Compare like with like, asking for the surface category, the lustre, the diameter and the shape, the criteria on which grading rests.

For the detail of country law no. 2017-16 and its implementing orders of 31 July 2017, the full text is published in the Journal officiel de la Polynésie française and the DRM gives a contact number, 40 50 25 50. The official sources consulted deal neither with export formalities nor with tax refunds: ask the seller and customs before a significant purchase. Once home, use neither perfume nor hairspray to clean a pearl; that is the only care Tahiti Tourisme recommends.

What we verify for your dates

Timetables, provider conditions, entry rules, weather-sensitive activities and commercial terms are rechecked for the actual trip. This article explains the planning logic; it is not a live availability promise.

Request a trip

Sources

Reviewed against its sources

Polynesia Local editorial desk · sources cited on every entry · 20 October 2026