Mother-of-pearl
Mother-of-pearl is a precious material produced by some mollusks,
especially oysters, as an inner shell layer. It has usually an iridescent
pearl white colour. Due to its hardness, it is used in the production
of various objects and for the decoration of certain surfaces.
The most valuable mother-of-pearl comes from the East Indies,
Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Depending on the origin its colour
may vary from classic white shade to grey or yellow shades.
In the colonial period, the port of Massawa in Eritrea was
the main market of the Red Sea for this product, which
was mainly exported to France and Italy.
Mother-of-pearl was and is still used for the
creation of inlay designs on furniture, especially
during the Renaissance period,
as well as for jewelry, cutlery, buttons,
mosaics, fans, binoculars, keys
for musical instruments.
Mother-of-pearl is composed of
hexagonal platelets of aragonite
(calcium carbonate crystals)
arranged in a continuous parallel
lamina. These layers are
separated by sheets of organic
matrix composed of elastic
biopolymers.
1
2
4
3
5
5 special mother-of-pearls, from 5 different
areas of the world, embellish the inlays of the
Hermes collection.
Red Sea
Tahiti
Australia
1 - Goldfish
mother-of-pearl
3 - White
mother-of-pearl
2 - Yellow
mother-of-pearl
5 - White
mother-of-pearl
4 - Grey
mother-of-pearl
