2-5 years: Time it takes for a cultured pearl to develop on an oyster farm

1/1000: Fraction of natural pearls on the market today

24-32: Pearls produced by an average freshwater mussel per culturing cycle

$7 million: Amount the “Baroda Pearls” were auctioned for in 2007 at Christie’s Auction House

470 carats: Weight of the Big Pink Pearl, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest natural abalone pearl ever found

$4.7 million: Value of the pearl in 1991

Source: pearl-guide.com