According to ancient Chinese legend, the moon holds the power to create pearls, instilling them with its celestial glow and mystery. Pearls have been treasured for their lustrous, creamy texture and subtle iridescent reflections since the dawn of humankind.

Because natural pearls are so rare and difficult to recover from the ocean's depths, man invented the technique of culturing salt and fresh water pearls from mollusks carefully seeded with irritants similar to those produced by nature. The painstaking effort of culturing is one of the most dramatic examples of man's quest to coax beauty from nature.

Due to demand for perfectly matched white pearl strands, cultured fresh and salt-water pearls are often bleached to achieve a uniform color. They may also be polished in tumblers to clean and improve their luster.

Pearls are most commonly thought of as white, but they are actually produced in many colors including gold, yellow, champagne, gray, and black.

While dyes, heat treatment, and irradiation are sometimes applied to produce gray, black or golden hues, particularly in small size pearls, most South Sea and Tahitian cultured pearls are not subjected to enhancements to create or improve their color.