which brings us to one quality that determines a pearl's value. 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 ...

Throughout much of recorded history, a natural pearl necklace comprised of matched spheres was a treasure of almost incomparable value ... Before the creation of cultured pearls in the early ...

A great irony of pearl history is that the least expensive cultured pearl product in the market today rivals the quality of the most expensive natural pearls ever found. The price-value anomaly is ...

and a necklace can reach over $200,000. So, how are these pearls grown? And what makes them so expensive? More from Retail South Sea pearls are the largest cultured-pearl variety, sometimes ...