This pendant was much bigger than what I expected (although not the vendor's fault because the size is specified). As few other reviews claim, the material looked somewhat like polished stone or gunmetal. It definitely did not look like your usual pearl and was rather heavy to hold. The black is also quite black unlike the usual black freshwater pearls. I kept wondering if it was indeed a real pearl- maybe its a cultured Tahitian black pearl (from searching on Google)? When the pendant is worn, because it is rather big, it sort-of sits upturned- i.e., at an angle, pointing forward. In all, it just wasn't my thing...