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Pearl colors

Blue pearls

Rare blue akoya pearls have a silvery gray tone (GIA).

Try this color in Pearl Studio

Illustration. Screens vary, and real pearls change with the light.

Where blue pearls come from

Rare blue akoya pearls have a silvery gray tone (GIA). Natural abalone pearls are often blue or green with strong iridescence, and Sea of Cortez pearls show blue among their overtones.

Pearl types with this color

Natural or treated?

Irradiation can give pearls a bluish gray tone (Jewelry Business). Ask whether a blue pearl is natural color and look for a lab report.

More on pearl treatments, or build this color yourself in Pearl Studio.

Pearls that come in this color

Strands of akoya cultured pearls Akoya pearls The classic white pearl strand. Saltwater pearls from the akoya oyster, grown mainly in Japan, Vietnam and Ch… Abalone pearls Natural pearls from abalone, usually blue, green or yellowish green with intense multicolored iridescence, an… Sea of Cortez pearls Rare cultured pearls from Mexico's rainbow-lipped oyster, grown near Guaymas, Sonora. Brown to dark gray with… Mabe pearls Half-round assembled cultured blister pearls: a thin nacre dome over a mother-of-pearl bead, filler and a mot…

Frequently asked questions

Are blue pearls natural?

They can be. Rare blue akoya pearls have a silvery gray tone (GIA). Irradiation can give pearls a bluish gray tone (Jewelry Business).

Questions from readers

Question about Blue pearls? Ask it here. We answer the useful ones on this page.

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Sources

Checked October 22, 2026.