Add elegance to a wide variety of jewelry designs -- pearls are perfect for formal occasions such as bridal jewelry, weddings and proms, and are equally at home in light-hearted beach-inspired jewelry. Pearls are organic gemstones, formed when a foreign object (like a tiny stone) makes its way into an oyster (or similar mollusk's) shell. Over time, the mollusk covers the intruding object with 1,000's of layers of nacre. "Cultured" pearls are pearls in which people, rather than nature, implant the foreign particle, and care for the mollusks at a pearl farm while the pearls develop. Nearly all pearls available today are cultured. Natural pearls are very rare (and valuable!), so the word "pearl" should be assumed as "cultured pearl" unless otherwise noted. Pearls formed by saltwater oysters are commonly known as oriental pearls and those produced by freshwater mollusks are called freshwater pearls. Pearls are perhaps the most popular and well-known birthstone for June. Use a single pearl drop, or a whole strand!
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Approximately 2.5x4 to 3x5mm cultured rice-crispie-shaped pearls. 89-111 beads per 16" strand. Color may vary. The color of these freshwater pearl beads has been enhanced to bring out their natural beauty.
