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crystals,
gems and minerals
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Mother of
Pearl
(Mother's Day stone)
Red Abalone
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Scientific:
Mother of pearl is the inside lining of
shells. It is so named because when an
irritant gets inside of a shell, the shell
protects itself by coating the irritant with
the same material of its lining. (This is
what creates pearls...) Nacre is a synonym
of mother-of-pearl. (naŽker)or nacre, the
iridescent substance that forms the lining
of the shells of some fresh-water and some
salt-water mollusks. Mother of pearl is
composed of alternate layers of the
aragonite form of calcium carbonate and
conchiolin. Among the chief sources are the
pearl oyster, found in warm and tropical
seas, chiefly in Asia; the fresh-water pearl
mussel, which lives in many rivers of the
United States and Europe; and the abalone of
California, Japan, and other Pacific
regions. |
Nautilus whose shell was buffed off to
reveal the beautiful mother of pearl.
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The
undulating grain of mother of pearl is the
result of seasonal fluctuations in the
Abalone's diet. The dark organic material of
the conchiolin layers is laid down during
the winter months and the nacre is laid down
in the warmer summer months.
Mother of pearl of the abalone or paua
variety from New Zealand has a blue green
iridescent color play. The indigenous Maori
people used it for centuries for inlays and
mystical carvings. The mother of pearl of
abalone is called sea opal because of its
similarity to the effects seen in opal.
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Abalone from Africa
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Treasured
for their lovely colors and iridescent
luster, mother of pearl shells have been
used in jewelry for many centuries. Mother
of pearl is used for inlay, and to make
cabochons, cameos, beads, buttons, and other
ornamental objects. Black mother-of-pearl is
light to dark gray and white mother-of-pearl
is white. Both varieties possess a
pearlescent sheen.
If you own mother of pearl, alcohol will eat
right through the nacre causing the color
and luster irreparable damage. |
Mother of Pearl lizard Zuni fetish
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Hardness: 3
- 4.5
Chemical Composition: Calcium carbonate
CaCo3 with organics and water |
Blister Pearls formed on the shell.
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History:
In the Louvre Museum
there are two objects belonging to the
Sumerians and found in Mesopotamia
representing a "wild goat entangled in
branches", and a "lion struggling with a
bull", also from the same provenance. The
ample presence of pearl oysters in the Red
Sea resulted in the working of various
motifs in these shells. In addition, this
type of work was also to be seen in Italy,
Greece, and Cyprus. A dish consisting of
geometric-shaped pieces of mother of pearl
found in China and belonging to the Tang
Dynasty (618-906) is evidence of the most
ancient Chinese art of working in mother of
pearl.
Throughout history, certain cultures have
placed little or no value on pearls and have
focused instead on luminescent
mother-of-pearl from mollusk shells. Before
the 19th century, Japanese shell divers who
found pearls apparently did not bother to
keep them. Polynesian children are said at
one time to have used pearls as marbles.
These and other peoples harvested pearl
oysters for their shells, using the
mother-of-pearl for decoration. Abalone was
also popular with many groups, including
those in the Americas. |
Mother of Pearl bead necklaces
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Mother of
pearl was highly sought after by the 1850's.
With the continual movement of water the
oysters were washed and turned regularly on
the seabed, consequently growing to immense
sizes. Because of their size, they were
highly prized and mother of pearl was
extensively used in Europe for buttons,
knife handles, jewelry trinkets and
artifacts.
The Maori's used the exposed shells of the
Abalone with their blue, green and pink
colors and their iridescent mother-of-pearl
in their gardens, placed flank wise, to help
nurture the seedlings. Plates of
Abalone-shell were and are still used to
create pictures of Maori-gods. The material
serves to intensify the generally
frightening expressions of the figures. |
Mother of Pearl Zuni dragonfly fetish
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Lore:
One of The Eight Taoist
Immortals:
Ho Hsien-Ku. Called the Immortal Maiden. In
a vision she was instructed that if she ate
mother of pearl she would gradually become
immortal. She lived in the mountains and
became more and more ethereal, floating from
peak to peak. At last, dispensing with
earthly food, she attained her quest. Her
symbol is the lotus, the flower of
open-heartedness.
In china, mother of pearl has been
prescribed over thousands of years. It is
used for heart palpitations, dizziness, and
high blood pressure. |
Mother of Pearl Zuni bat fetishes
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In the Peruvian Andes,
powdered mother of pearl is sold in the
markets to promote healing of wounds.
In Vietnam, the flat shell of the Abalone,
with its iridescent inside, is powdered and
taken orally to improve vision, to remove
keratoses (cataracts), and to improve such
conditions as hemeralopia (where you can see
at night well, but hardly at all in the
daytime!).
Venus, Goddess of the Sea, is believed to
have emerged from the sea in a giant scallop
shell. |
White Mother of Pearl shell with natural and
white chip beads
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Metaphysical:
Mother of pearl helps to stimulate
intuition, sensitivity, imagination, and
adaptability. It helps with clarity in
decision-making.
It signifies faith, charity, and innocence,
enhances personal integrity, and helps to
provide focus to ones attention. It has
traditionally been used to strengthen the
environment and bring greater purity to the
atmosphere. |
Mother of Pearl cabochons; black, white,
paua, abalone, and pink.
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Mother of pearl appears in
many forms and is the home of many small
creatures of the sea. It contains the
energies of the god of the sea. These
vacated homes have been used to provide
boundless energy in all areas of endeavor.
Mother of pearl is particularly protective.
It can help protect against irritants,
helping us to wash away negativity that is
not ours. It transmutes negative energy, and
it is symbolic of the white, healing light
of the universe. |
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Teresa's Rock of the Week, formerly Gail's Rock of the Week |
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