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Mother Of Pearl
http://the-real-way.com
Mother of Pearl, also known as 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 simple to glide on top of. Oysters are a major source of Mother of Pearl for the purposes of jewelry.
Mother of Pearl goes in and out of fashion over the years, but is most closely associated with great-grandmothers and the 1920's It tends to be jewelry that older women like. This might be because younger women are oblivious of it and its ghostly lustre.
Pearls are made of the same stuff that makes up Mother of Pearl, but Mother of Pearl is easier to garner and is therefore less expensive. However, when it is presented correctly by an expert, it is a wondrous sight. Real Mother of Pearl seems to have depth.
Being pearl in colour, Mother of Pearl matches very well with silver. In fact, it matches better with silver than with gold, the two most preferred metals utilized in jewelry throughout the ages. This off-sets the price of the Mother of Pearl, rendering it truly rather affordable.
Mother of Pearl is very soft and so easily damaged. On the Mohs scale of hardness it is around 3.5. Window glass is 5 and diamonds 10. Therefore, a craftsman working with nacre has to be very careful. This softness makes it easy to cut, but easy to damage as well.
If you like natural Mother of Pearl, you will be restricted to white and pinks to brown. However, nacre is easily dyed so you will find it in practically any and every colour. Not everyone wants it in non-natural colours though.
if you are buying 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 gap between the two? If so, there is a good chance that the nacre will work loose and fall out over time. If you are sure that you are looking at real nacre, this is the number one problem of bad workmanship.
However, there is also the problem of fake nacre. It is not unusual, but if you compare real nacre and fake nacre, the fake will stand out like a sore thumb. Therefore, it is worth borrowing some authentic nacre to take with you if you are in the market for it.
Because nacre is so soft it takes some looking after. Nacre should not be allowed to come into contact with any other objects because most things are harder than it. It will easily scratch, chip and flake, so wrap it separately whilst you are not wearing it.
If you have a costly piece, you should have it cleaned by an expert as there are no cleaners that you can purchase 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
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, and is now concerned with Birthstones. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Jewellry and Watches.
Article submitted Tuesday, December 13, 2011 & read 87 times.
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» left by Christofer French (158 days 11 hours ago.)
What cool information. You have so many interesting topics and sources. I appreciate this very much.
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» left by Owen Jones(187)
Thanks, Christopher.
I write on subjects loosely associated with my websites of which there are about 140.
So, there is plenty of scope.
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» left by Christofer French (157 days 16 hours ago.)
Wow!
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» left by Owen Jones(187)
I try to create about five websites a month and write three to five pages or and posts a day.
It keeps me off the streets, you know.
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