Overtone

overtone See orient.
padparadscha Color of the lotus; a light to medium-toned pinkish orange to orangy pink sapphire.
pair Two gems matching in color, cut, clarity, crystal, and diameter.

overtone
The secondary colour of the surface of a natural or cultured pearl, created when the layers of nacre split white light into its component colours ...

Overtone: A hint of a secondary color (see body color): pinkish, silverish, or bluish.
Orient: The rainbow effect that seems to encircle a pearl's surface.
Pavilion: A diamond's bottom portion.

Overtone: The hint of secondary color found in pearls that is typically pink, green, blue and silver.
Oyster: Although 70 species of oysters can produce pearls, most of them belong to the Pinctada family. Below are the three most common oyster types.

Overtone refers to the presence of secondary colors to a pearl body color.
Oyster ...

Color and Overtones
The dominant color of a pearl comes from the main reflection from the pearl surface. The deeper reflected light draws the inner color from the pearl, called the overtone.

Akoya pearls are known for their luster, white or cream hue (often with rose, silver, or cream overtones), large size, smoothness, and round shape. Because of their fine quality, Akoya pearls are often used in premier pearl jewelry.

Tahitian or Polynesian black pearls have experienced a rapid growth in popularity of late and are graded according to body color and overtone. Body color is classified as silver, silver blue, brown-black, green-black, or black.

Body colours with overtones are priced more than the pearls with plain body colour. Finally the perfect round is priced maximum and minimum for baroque shape. Black pearls are very precious and thus are expensive.

Black pearls come in many colors, including many body shades and overtone tints including gray (light gray to almost black), peacock green (especially valuable), aubergine (eggplant), and deep brown.

Since pearls come in a variety of shapes, colors and overtones they are the versatile, perfect choice to support any wedding theme.

Finer quality pearls have a hint of secondary color, or overtone, which is visible when light reflects off the surface. An overtone can be pink, rose, green or blue.

The finest color of sapphire regardless of origin, is an intense medium dark blue, without overtones of green or violet. Did we say intense? We are talking about a color that appears to be electric, not just pleasing but a pure, exciting blue.

South Sea pearls have the largest range of color, with the silver-lipped oysters producing pearls with overtones of silvery white or bluish white and gold-lipped oysters producing pearls with overtones of gold, cream or silver.

This happens because of secondary hue or overtones present in emerald. While some emeralds are green-green other might be bluish-green or yellowish-green as blue and yellow are secondary hues present in emeralds.

The overtones of the average Akoya Pearl range from pale cream to pinkish white, champagne, and silver gray.

Ruby red stones with little orange or brown overtones are the most highly sought after. GIA has traditionally classified rubellite (along with Emerald) as a Class III gem, meaning that it is almost always included.

Besides the body or exterior color, higher quality pearls reveal color overtones which reflect the pearl¹s layering or "heart." A quality white pearl may have a light pink or silver overtone to it, giving the illusion of depth.

Tahitian pearls display a shimmering orient or overtone that is green, blue, pink or violet in color. These orient colors are in striking contrast to their silver to black body color and are sometimes given specific names (e.g.

We rejected a number of other blue diamonds for various reasons, some had a sea-green overtone, others were not as bright, probably due to having slightly imperfect proportions, ...

But there are also color overtones reflected across a pearl's surface. In fact, the color of a pearl more often than not is a meld of its body color and its overtone, just as the term "white-rose" will describe a white pearl with a rosy-colored hue.

Producers of the rarest black cultured pearls, these oysters create large, silver-gray to black pearls that can have other colors as overtones - peacock green being the most valuable.

The top qualities are as red as you can imagine: a saturated pure spectral hue without any overtones of brown or blue. An intense pure, red color, uniform color is the most valuable gem.

Aquamarine is commonly heat-treated to permanently remove green overtones. Unlike its sister stone the emerald, aquamarine generally isn't plagued by surface fractures - which means the stone isn't usually treated with fillers, resins or oils.

Exotic velvety blue with a rich overtone of purple, tanzanite is a one of a kind gem, unlike any other. Rare and valuable, tanzanite is also found only one place on the planet: the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Overtone (rosé, green, gray, etc.)
Nacre (thick, thin, etc.)
Luster (high, dull, etc.)
Blemishes (very slightly blemished, very blemished, etc.)
Matching (good, fair, very good, etc.)
Drilled (non drilled, full drilled, half drilled) ...

Turquoise from Iran is often said to be the best and sometimes it has a clear sky blue color, with no green overtone and no black or brown veins running through it.
Turquoise is more expensive when it has an intense blue color without green overtones.

The finest quality of ruby is the one that is intensely saturated, pure red with no overtones of brown or blue. This color is reflected in the gems from Burma which have the much celebrated 'pigeon-blood-red' hue.

Variscite, AlPO4-2H2O, Hydrated Aluminum Phosphate, (also called Utahlite) is a relatively rare translucent pastel green to emerald green gemstone with blue or yellow overtones (it is similar to chrysocolla, chrysoprase and turquoise).

White is the color most often associated with pearl, and the most valued are generally pure, gleaming bone white with no yellow or pink overtones. The exception is black pearls, which are highly prized and valued.

Any black, gray, or green overtones mixed in with the blue will reduce a stone's value. In general, a more pastel blue would be less preferred than a vivid blue but would be priced higher than an overdark blackish blue color.

The rarest are those that come from a large black-lipped oyster found in the South Seas. These oysters create large, silver-gray to black pearls that can have other colors as overtones; a peacock green is the most valuable overtone.

A trade term describing a light yellow diamond with green or brown overtone but lacks the intensity to be a Fancy Color Diamond.
Chip ...

Dyed to give rose, blue or golden overtones
Dyed blue, black and other colors includes use of colored nuclei
Dyed all colors (freshwater)
Irradiated to produce blue, gray black and bronze colors ...

Cultured pearls range in color from white to black with various mult-colored overtones. The color of the pearl is really the wearer's preference.
Size ...

Black Pearl: From Tahiti, the rarest variety most often available from 7mm to 12mm. Sizes above this are rarest. Overtones and body colours are described as gunmetal (greys), aubergine (reds) and peacock (blues and greens).

Body color - The basic color of a pearl. White, cream, black, etc.. Always consider the overtones, orient and luster when evaluating a pearls color.

Rarely pure blue, the gem almost always displays signature overtones of purple. In smaller sizes, it tends toward lighter tones, with lavender the most common. In larger sizes, the gem typically displays deeper, richer blues and purples.

Rarely pure blue, tanzanite almost always display its signature overtones of purple. In smaller sizes, tanzanite tends toward the lighter tones and the lavender color is more common.

Black pearls that are gray to black with green, blue or rose overtones.
Blemish ...

It is usually cut so that the strongest blue color comes up through the top of the stone. It often shows gray overtones which can detract from its appearance. It is used sparsely in jewelry, and is more of a collectors stone.

shapes. While characterized as black, the rich, dark colors actually range from slate grey, silver and pistachio to peacock green and midnight black with overtones of green, rosé or blue.
South Sea White Cultured Pearls ...

However the color of topaz is generally much warmer in luster and tone with an orange or pinkish 'overtone' color than that of any quartz stones.

Black Pearls - These are pearls which have a color which ranges from gray to black with green, blue or rose overtones.

As one of the newest and most exotically colored gemstones, Tanzanite is part of the Zoisite Mineral species and is only found in East Africa. Tanzanite is very rarely a pure blue and usually exhibits rich purple overtones.

Biwa Pearls -- A pearl that comes from a specific region in Lake Biwa, Japan.
Freshwater Pearls -- A very small variation of pearl.
Tahitian Pearls (Black pearls) -- Pearls that are gray to black with green, blue or rose overtones.

In 1991, a single piece, dubbed the Rutherford Lady, was found that weighed more than 2,800 carats. Color varies from a fantastic light pure orange, almost yellow to shades of red-orange, red, and brownish-red, but the orange overtone always is ...

These stones have a regal appearance, containing a reddish overtone, which gives the appearance of a king’s velvet cape. Amethyst is a precious variety of crystalline quartz.

The best yellow sapphires possess a light to medium tone, without any brownish overtones. Finally, the cleaner the stone, the more valuable the gem. However, be careful, because in some cases flawless yellow sapphires are treated synthetics.

See also: Color, Stone, Jewel, Gemstone, Jewelry