FeatureGems & Gemology, Spring 2011, Volume 47, No. 1

UV-Vis-NIR Reflectance Spectroscopy of Natural-Color Saltwater Cultured Pearls from Pinctada Margaritifera

Stefanos Karampelas, Emmanuel Fritsch, Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Thomas Hainschwang

Natural-color saltwater cultured pearls from Pinctada margaritifera were studied by diffuse reflectance UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy to identify the absorption features associated with their various colors. Nine patterns observed in the visible range demonstrated that individual colors are caused not by one pigment but by a mixture of pigments.