I have the Chanel Butterfly sunglasses with the 25 pearls and my SA said they were freshwater cultured pearls! My first question to my SA was faux or cultured pearls, as I didn't really want to pay $890 aud for faux pearls.
I'm sorry, but I've yet to see Chanel costume jewelry made with real pearls. They are faux, not natural and not cultured, even if the piece costs in excess of $3,000. It's a better deal to wander to their fine jewelry department, or to a proper jewelry store.