Bold to delicate – Mother of Pearl jewelry

I realized as I was writing the last post about Van Cleef & Arpel’s mother of pearl “Alhambra” jewelry, I haven’t really done a lot of writing about mother of pearl.

Technically mother of pearl is actually “nacre“, but let’s face it – mother of pearl sounds so much nicer   Nacre is the shell lining most commonly found in pearl oysters and pearl freshwater mussels.

Mother of pearl is a versatile material, it can be cut into large pendants like this “Donut” pendant:

image: Ayseturgrul

It can be carved into delicate shapes, like this carved rose pendant:

image: Chocolate Cake Jewels

And of course, if you prefer delicate, light-weight jewelry, you can find it as well:

“Lily of the Valley” earrings image: Glyptic Jewelry