When Columbus was being funded by Spain to find a new route to India and the Orient, The  list of good they expected from him in return -"pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, and spice...". After some exploring Columbus found native women wearing bracelets of high quality baroque pearls, near the Orinoco Ri9ver of Venezuela.
One of the first mentions of some pearls obtained by trade, was one of Columbs' sailors having a sack of pearls, 96 pounds with some as big as hazel nuts, very clear and beautiful.
One of the first mention of slave from Africa were used as pearl divers by the Spanish. At one time Spains harvest of pearls from the Caribbean amounted to almost 12,000 kilograms per year.
One of the most famous pearls from American waters is La Peregrina or " the Incomparable", approximately 10 grams. Big Pearl! Owned today by Elizabeth Taylor.
They say that Spain's pearl trade helped to usher in the Renaissance.
Anyway after  pearling for a period of about 30 years, estimates at 1.2 billion pearls were taken, or 40 million pearls each year.
And now.......