Exotic and naturally black pearls produced by the Pinctada Margaritifera, the black-lips oyster living in the South sea saltwater, are commonly known as Tahitian pearls. Usually these pearls are referred to as Black pearls, as they have a naturally dark body color, however their color vary in a wide range that covers the spectrum - from light, creamy white and grey, to regal greens, iridescent peacock and deep black. Tahitian pearls are relative newcomers to the cultured pearl world, popularized only as early as the mid-1900's by the efforts of Mr. Robert Wan of Tahiti and his New York-based colleagues.

These pearls have become some of the most sought-after, expensive pearls in the world. Because of their vast color range, matching these pearls into a finished strand is an enormous task requiring thousands of loose pearls to create a single strand of matched pearls. 

Tahitian pearls are considered to be the second most valuable commercially farmed pearls in the world after Australian South sea pearls. Unlike black freshwater and black akoya pearls, which are not naturally black but have been irradiated or dyed, Tahitians come by their dark color naturally. Tahitian pearls are bead-nucleated, but the nacre is typically thicker than it is for Akoya pearls. The thinnest nacre allowed by French Polynesian law for export is 0.8 mm, which is a depth that would be considered, in the akoya world, extremely thick.

Tahitian pearls are among the largest pearls in the world, they range in size from approximately 8 mm to 18 mm. The only larger commercially harvested pearls today are Australian South Sea. The beauty of Tahitian pearls, however, is not limited to their size, but their incredible array of iridescent colors. Tahitian pearls are the only pearls that have a full color spectrum. Black-lip pearl oysters have a rainbow-like mantle which exhibits all natural colors. These colors are expressed in Tahitian pearls in a magical way with colors shimmering over the surface of some of the best specimens.

Because Tahitian pearls are bead nucleated many of them are round, or near round, with other shapes expressed in drops, baroques, button and circled pearls. When all other factors are equal, round Tahitian pearls are the most valuable.

Although Tahitian pearls carry the name of the famous Tahiti Island they do not come from Tahiti. Tahiti is the main trading post for atolls that produce Tahitian pearls. Black-lip pearls are farmed in French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, the Micronesian Islands, and even to some extent, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, but only those grown in French Polynesia may be called Tahitian pearls.

Tahitian pearls were once the rarest, most valuable cultured pearls in the world. They are still much more valuable than freshwater and akoya pearls, but the farming enterprises are no longer relegated to small groups of atolls. This has brought market forces into play, and today, Tahitian pearls are now affordable to a much wider demographic.