Natural versus cultured. Natural pearls are hard to find. They're rare, and this makes them worth more money. But let's rewind for a second. What is a natural pearl, and how are they formed?

Then, there’s the necklace, which features four strings of pearls and a diamond clasp in the centre. The cultured pearls were given to Queen Elizabeth by the government of Japan in the 1970s to ...

But just because you can grow a cultured pearl doesn't mean it's an easy process. Pearl farmers wait anywhere from six months to two years for a pearl to form. And not every pearl comes out the same.

Pearls mean little to him. What he had really burned ... London and Manhattan indicate that they are selling “cultured pearls,” sell them for much less than the price of “real” Orientals.* ...