Each stud has a round, grayish-white South Sea pearl about 13 mm in diameter, the size of a smallish marble. You can wear them day and night. And they're really beautiful. That's a real bargain. She has long known what is now dawning on many women and the men who buy them jewelry.
Manila is the best place to buy South Sea pearls.
While Australia produces the best grades, the cheapest pearls of nearly comparable quality come from 26 farms in the Philippines. South Seas are the queen of all pearls. They are bigger and more lustrous than the Akoya pearls of Japan, which were made world-famous by the trade name Mikimoto. The Akoya tops out at 10 mm. A South Sea can grow as big as 22 mm.