June 23, 2009

Mother of pearl

I have recently been asked, “How does mother of pearl relate to actual pearls?” Mother of pearl is also know as nacre, an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is strong, resilient and iridescent. This is called “mother of pearl” because it is literally the “mother” or creator of real pearls. Pearls and the inside layer of pearl oyster shells and freshwater pearl mussel shells are made of nacre. Mother of pearl can be shaped into all sorts of things including flower shaped earrings settings such as these as seen above and more found on the Mai Pearls website.

Posted: June 23, 2009 11:05 AM