Natural cultured black Pearl(1ct, South-sea) hand set in sterling silver. Pearls are the only gems that are grown inside living creatures, so rather than being mined like other gems, pearls are farmed and harvested. Pearls have been harvested from mollusks for thousands of years, either by chance or, more recently, purposely through culturing. From the start of mankind's love affair with them, pearls have been symbolic of class, purity, refinement, and wealth, but modern designs with fashionable new pearl shapes and colors are helping pearls appeal to a broader audience. They truly are not just your grandmother's pearls anymore. Just as the original discovery of pearls is unknown, the origin of the name is also uncertain. The word "pearl" may derive from the Latin perna, a type of shell, or sphaerula, meaning "spherical." The names of various types of pearls are modified by a word that connotes where they are cultured (South Seas) or the type of oyster that grows them (Akoya), with one exception being keshi pearls. The word "keshi" is Japanese for "poppyseed," so named because of their generally small size.The first pearl discovery is an ancient mystery, though it was likely accidental and by a fisherman who was opening oysters or mussels for food. Freshwater pearling has been known in China since 1000 B.C., and while the Chinese were culturing blister pearls as far back as the 14th century, whole cultured pearls have only been available since the 1920s.Natural pearls have been harvested for hundreds and maybe even thousands of years. A natural pearl occurs only once in 15,000 mollusks. In addition to oysters (saltwater) and mussels (freshwater), other creatures occasionally produce pearls, like the very rare and expensive pale orange Melo Melo pearls from marine snails and beautiful pink conch pearls with unusual flame patterns. Other pearls include recently discovered non-nacreous brownish-purple scallop pearls and distinctively blue-green iridescent abalone pearls.Size 6 can be resized. Please ask questions