South Sea Shell Pearl Beads are lab-created from South Sea oyster shells, that are formed into perfectly round shell pearl beads. The nucleus starts with the fluted giant clam shell material, then it goes through a very complex coating and heating procedure until a high gloss is reached. These shell pearl beads are as beautiful and luxurious as real cultured pearls, with very little inclusions or defects. They cost about 30% less than Swarovski Crystal Pearls.