The Color of Pearls that Best Suit My Skin Tone
You always look better when wearing Pearls! This is a result of the way Nacre is formed on the pearl. The nacre reflects light with sharpness and intensity that gives a pearl it’s particular glow. That is why they have been worn by women for centuries, and are now making a big comeback in the fashion world.
As an organic gem, pearls and have a special surface, which reflects light on a complexion in a very flattering way. The light reflects on a complexion in a special way and enhances the skin with a glowing light.
Pearls capture light and change instantly depending on skin tone or attire. A pearl’s color is a combination of its dominant bodycolor, its overtones which is the other shades which appear on the surface of pearls, the subtle colors that seem to come from within the pearl, and orient, the iridescent phenomenon or “play of color” you see when the pearl moves.
There is an endless array of naturally cultured pearl colors, but white pearls are the classic bodycolor. Often other colors appear on the bodycolor of the pearls, these are called overtones. The shades of the overtones are determent by the degree of light that appear on the surface of pearls.
The three most common overtones for white pearls are: Silver, Rose and Cream. These three overtones will be the same for white Japanese Akoya, white Freshwater and White South Sea pearls, although their degrees of intensity will vary from pearl to pearl.
SILVER is the most popular white pearl overtone; it is the closest to a true, bright white color and what most people believe a pearl “should” look like.
Women with dark or olive complexions, those who tan easily or women with black or dark brunette hair will wear the silver overtone well. The bright white body and “cooler” undertones of the silver pearl overtone contrasts the darker skin tones and hair colors and helps bring the most of your natural beauty. These cool undertone pearls are vibrant against darker skin and their white luster and luminous are an ideal complement.
The Silver overtone is highly versatile, and looks beautiful with both white gold and yellow gold accents. White gold brings out the cooler undertones in white pearls and make them look brighter and whiter whereas yellow gold offers a more traditional classic pearl look.
ROSE is the most Traditional White Pearl Overtone. Rose features a faint to deep pink blush of color over the white body color of the pearl.
The rose overtones in white pearls are very feminine and flattering. The noticeable rose overtones are great choices for women with fair complexions. Those with blond hair or light to medium-brown hair will look wonderful in these rose-tinted white pearls. The rose overtone is warmer and it adds a bit of warmth to cool skin tones and makes them more vibrant.
Wear them with yellow gold settings in order to bring out their warm tones and help them light up and sparkle or go for white gold for a bit of contrast while white gold will cool down overtones and make the pink tones less noticeable.
Yellow gold is traditionally chosen for this pearl overtone; it warms up the pearls and increases that special sparkle factor. White gold is chosen often for younger ladies who prefer the cooler tones.
CREAM is an excellent choice for red heads, mature women with grey or silver hair and those of us who blush easily or have a lot of pink/red undertones to their complexion will be flattered by pinkish and reddish tones.
The cream pearl overtone is a “warm” overtone that compliments rather than contrasts with pinks and reds; these pearls will warm up against the deeper complexions and sparkle nicely. Certain cream overtones tend to have little sparks of violet color, and add a nice dimension of richness to the look of pearls.
Yellow gold is a great setting for white pearls with cream overtones, yellow gold matches the warm cream undertones. If you want contrast, choose the White gold setting but bring into consideration that white gold can be a bit on the “clashy” side unless you have the exact right shade of Cream.
CREAM / IVORY is the last most popular overtone in white pearls. Cream is best described as a hint of French Vanilla over the white body color of the pearl. If you’re a brunette, you’ll find that investing in white pearls with cream undertones is the best way to access pearls which highlight your natural coloring.
You are looking for chemistry between you and the pearls. When you find the right match it’s magic! You look fantastic and so do the pearls.