Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. Cork is natural, renewable, and is an attractive alternative to leather. It is water resistant, lightweight, durable, stain resistant, soft and supple, and easy to clean. The cork trees are not cut down to harvest the cork bark. The bark is harvested in a 9 year cycle and promotes healthy growth over its lifespan of about 200 years. Nearly 50% of the world's cork comes from Portugal. All of our cork jewelry is handcrafted in the USA.