Nacre Or Mother Of Pearl

By Owen Jones


Mother of Pearl, also called nacre, is the lining seen on the inside of the shells of some molluscs. It is a white to pinkish iridescent layer that the inhabitant finds easy to glide on top of. Oysters are a major source of Mother of Pearl for the purposes of jewelry.

Mother of Pearl comes in and out of fashion over the decades, but is most closely associated with great-grandmothers and the 1920's It tends to be something that older women like. This might be because younger women are unaware of it and its ghostly lustre.

Pearls are created from the same substance that makes up Mother of Pearl, but Mother of Pearl is easier to harvest and is therefore less expensive. However, when it is presented properly by an expert, it is a wondrous sight. Real Mother of Pearl appears to have depth.

Being pearl in colour, Mother of Pearl goes very well with silver. In fact, it matches better with silver than with gold, the two most preferred metals used in jewelry throughout the ages. This off-sets the cost of the Mother of Pearl, rendering it really rather affordable.

Mother of Pearl is very soft and so easily scratched. On the Mohs scale of hardness it is about 3.5. Window glass is 5 and diamonds 10. Therefore, a craftsman working with nacre has to be very cautious. This softness makes it easy to cut, but simple to damage as well.

If you like natural Mother of Pearl, you will be limited to white and pinks to brown. However, nacre is easily dyed so you will find it in practically any and every colour. Not everybody wants it in non-natural colours though.

if you are purchasing nacre in a setting, the thing to look out for is the join between the Mother of Pearl and the metal. Is there a visible space between the two? If so, there is a pretty good chance that the nacre will come loose and fall out over time. If you are sure that you are looking at real nacre, this is the number one difficulty of bad workmanship.

However, there is also the problem of fake nacre. It is not uncommon, but if you compare real nacre and fake nacre, the fake will stand out like a sore thumb. Therefore, it is worth borrowing some genuine nacre to take with you if you are in the market for it.

Because nacre is so soft it takes some looking after. Nacre ought to not be allowed to come into contact with any other objects because most items are harder than it. It will easily scratch, chip and flake, so wrap it separately if you are not wearing it.

If you have an expensive item, you ought to have it cleaned professionally as there are no cleaners that you can buy that will not be harmful if applied incorrectly. It is better to pay a little more than damage a nice item of Mother of Pearl jewelry




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