There was a question about natural Blue Akoya Pearls that came to the Cultured Pearl Association of America last week. I thought I would pass on this information.  The question was, how rare are they and what gives them their intense color? Natural Blue Akoyas are the rarest of Akoya Pearls.
“Natural Blue Akoya pearls can be incredibly beautiful and aren’t as rare as you might think. They have recently gained popularity…The color you see are not a result of a pigment. It’s organic matter on the nucleus. When a grafter improperly inserts a nucleus, it can cause a delay in the healing of the incision, resulting in inflammatory damage and abnormal secretions of organic matter, which appears blue through the nacre.” CPAA.
Sounds a little painful, but sometimes with beauty comes a little pain…