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Mother Of Pearl

Introduction
 

	Mother Of Pearl is the smooth lining of iridescent luster found in some mollusk shells such as large pearl oysters, abalones, pearl mussels and paua shells. Also known as Nacre (from the Arabic word for shell “Naqqarah”) it is composed of thin layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin in the form of aragonite or calcite that is secreted by the living mollusk organism.
Legends & Lore
	While Queen Elizabeth I gave Mother Of Pearl (i.e. shells are the “mother” from which pearls are harvested) its name in the 15th Century, the beauty of Mother Of Pearl has been used in the decoration of jewelry and ornaments 3,000 years before the birth of Christ.
	In the 1920s, a series of tombs were excavated to the east of the site of Babylon in the Middle East. The tombs were of Sumerian royalty from ancient Mesopotamia and yielded a treasure of gold, silver gemstones and several beautiful wooden ornaments and musical instruments inlaid with Mother Of Pearl (a testament to the sophistication of this ancient culture). The Silver lyre of Ur, found in one of the graves in the Royal Cemetery, dates back to between 2600 and 2400 BC. The lyre was entirely covered in sheet silver and inlaid with Mother Of Pearl.

In Asia, centuries before the birth of Christ, the Chinese learned that beads or tiny figures of deities slipped between the soft mantle and the shell of a living mollusk soon became coated with Mother Of Pearl. These beads and carvings were then taken to the temples and offered to the gods in the hope that they would bestow good luck. Mother Of Pearl, soon held a position of high status in Chinese society and became interlinked with stories of gods and mythical creatures. The Chinese also used Mother Of Pearl in medicine, prescribing it for over a thousand years as an aid to reduce heart palpitations, dizziness and high blood pressure.
 

The Yaqui Indians of Mexico, immortalized in the shamanic tales of Carlos Castaneda, wear a necklace called the “Hopo’orosim”. The necklace is made of Mother Of Pearl and is believed to provide the wearer with protection from evil.
 

By the 1500s Europe's growing demand for Mother Of Pearl for use in gold and silver rings, necklaces, brooches and buttons had all but depleted the supplies of Mother Of Pearl in the Persian Gulf.
 

In 1568 the Solomon Islands, known as “The Pearl of the Pacific”, were discovered by the Spanish explorer, Alvaro de Mendana. On discovering the Islands rich bounty of gold and Mother Of Pearl, he gave the archipelago its current name, believing that he had found the mythical source of King Solomon's mines.
 

In Polynesian lore, the iridescence of Mother Of Pearl is attributed to the spirits of coral and sand, Okana and Uaro, who as legend has it adorned the Tahitian oysters in glistening cloaks covered in all the colors of the fish of the ocean. It is also said that Oro, the Polynesian god of peace and fertility, came down to earth and offered a special pearl called Te Ufi, the black pearl, to the beautiful princess of Bora Bora as a sign of his love.
 

In the 1920s it was discovered for the last time on a remote Island of the New Hebrides. Explorers Sperry and Evans stumbled upon an unusual use for Mother Of Pearl. A line of mummies were placed as a barricade, with huge eyes of Mother Of Pearl that shone through the gloom. Amazingly, the mummies weren't ancestral members of the tribe, but were the bodies of a rival tribe of cannibals!
 

In 19th Century America, where it had been previously used as an inlay in furniture, Mother Of Pearl found a new use in fashion, as buttons. Iowa became the center of the trade, shipping billions of iridescent fasteners until World War II. Around the same time, new-cultured farming techniques in Japan saw a return in numbers and availability of Mother Of Pearl producing oysters.
 

All waterborne organisms living within shells, called mollusks, have the ability to produce Mother Of Pearl. However, very few mollusks with single shells, called gastropods, do so. High quality Mother Of Pearl is produced by the mollusk family called bivalves, which have two-part shells.
 

Mother Of Pearl’s Nacre is what pearls are made of and forms when an organic irritant such as a parasite or food-particle becomes trapped within the mollusk, or if the mollusk is injured in some way. Sensing the object or damage, the living organism within the mollusk secretes calcium carbonate, a derivative mineral of aragonite, and the binding protein conchiolin. The layers of calcium carbonate settle and are interspersed by the conchiolin, which acts as a kind of organic glue binding the crystals together.
 

Luster is a phenomenon used to describe the diffraction of light from the Nacre's surface brilliance together with its inner, deeper radiance. The radiance is the light that is reflected, not just off the surface, but also off the internal layers. A better luster is achieved if the Nacre crystals are uniform and the layers thin and numerous, letting the light diffract uninterrupted. Nacre that has a bright mirror-like finish commands higher prices, whereas cheaper quality Nacre has a low luster appearing dull with a flat finish. The quality of the Nacre's luster is also dependant on external factors.
 

Mother Of Pearl is the creation of a living organism and environmental factors play a crucial role in its formation. Mother Of Pearl producing mollusks cannot regulate their body temperature, and so are susceptible to changes in external conditions.
 

Mother Of Pearl appears in a variety of colors from white to black and nearly every other color in between. It derives its color its genetic make-up, food, trace metals in the water and to a lesser extent the depth and salt content of the water.
 

Valued for its delicate beauty, Mother Of Pearl is used for jewelry, inlay work and made into snuff boxes, buttons, combs, knife handles, spectacle cases, scent bottles, playing-card cases and fans.