Multicolor Pearls
Strands and pieces that deliberately mix colors rather than matching one. Two quite different things live on this page. Tahitian multicolor sets peacock against green, silver and aubergine within the same dark strand. Freshwater multicolor mixes natural white, pink, peach and lavender. Both are natural color. Filter by type, piece and shape below.
Choosing a multicolor strand
Four things worth understanding before you buy.
Tahitian multicolor
The hardest strand we assemble. Every pearl is the oyster's own color and the job is to set peacock, green, silver and aubergine against each other so the strand reads as one piece rather than a collection of odds. Done badly it looks like leftovers. Done well it is the most interesting thing a Tahitian can do.
Freshwater multicolor
Natural white, pink, peach and lavender in one strand, which is possible because the freshwater mussel produces all of those colors on its own. It is the most affordable way into a multicolor strand by a wide margin and it wears more easily than people expect.
Mixed-type strands
A few pieces here combine pearl types, most often white and golden South Sea graduating into each other, or South Sea run against Tahitian. We build these ourselves from whatever material we can match at the time. Once one sells we cannot make the same strand again. We can make something similar, but each one is genuinely one of a kind.
What matching means here
On a single-color strand, matching means making every pearl agree. On a multicolor strand it means the opposite: choosing pearls that differ in a controlled way, with the size, luster and surface still in agreement. It takes longer, not less time.
Before you buy
Are the colors natural?
Yes, throughout. Tahitian multicolor is the oyster's own color. Freshwater multicolor is the mussel's own white, pink, peach and lavender, sorted and arranged rather than painted on. There are no dyed pearls on this page.
Why is a multicolor strand harder to assemble than a matched one?
Because the pearls still have to agree on everything except color. Size, luster, surface and shape all have to match, and on top of that the colors have to be arranged so the strand reads deliberately. A poorly built multicolor strand looks like the pearls nobody else wanted, which is exactly what some of them are.
Will it be easy to wear?
More than people expect. A multicolor strand carries its own contrast, which means it does not need anything else to work, and it goes with both white and yellow gold. If you already own a classic white strand, multicolor is usually the more interesting second purchase.
Can I see the exact strand before it ships?
Ask us and we will photograph it, free and with no obligation. On multicolor this matters more than on any other strand, because a screen will not carry the relationship between the colors and that relationship is the entire thing you are buying.
Still deciding?
Our specialists will show you pearls on camera and talk you through what you are looking at. Most appointments run about twenty minutes.
