Mother-of-pearl jewelry: symbolism and beliefs.
Mother-of-pearl, with its iridescent reflections and its finesse, remains a mineral material of choice to create beautiful jewelry and to highlight all the femininity and softness of the person who wears it. We propose to you through our file on the mother-of-pearl jewels to learn a little more about this often ignored semi-precious material. The fact that a living being can shape such a hard and perfect material has always fascinated the ancients, which is why mother-of-pearl is at the heart of beliefs and religions. As it is believed that the first jewels were created by belief to serve as amulets, it is normal that we find ancient mother-of-pearl jewels.
Knife with mother-of-pearl handle
Many virtues according to beliefs
It is indeed necessary to know that mother-of-pearl has for centuries had protective and maternal virtues that some people did not hesitate to use to wrap the soul of a dead person with a vaporous, tender and pure veil to soften its passage towards the beyond. In some beliefs, it also seems to cure heartache, but also all the difficulties that we can encounter in our lives and that can weaken us. Thus, wearing mother-of-pearl jewellery guarantees safety and protection and well-being in everyday life.
A different symbol for different religions
Mother-of-pearl is also used in the making of statues representing the Virgin in the Catholic religion for its iridescent white side symbolizing purity and softness. Among the Greeks, it remains a symbol of love that is offered once worked or in the form of jewelry to the person pampered. Finally, in China, it is a symbol of immortality and power. It is for one of these reasons that it represents the 42 years of marriage. According to the different religions, mother-of-pearl has a great number of virtues and benefits that jewellers know how to use to create exceptional pieces.
The mother of pearl of the nautilus
Mother of pearl and antique jewellery
Mother-of-pearl is a cultured stone that jewellers use a lot in the making of their jewellery, notably for its beauty and purity. But it was even more appreciated during the past centuries to create ancient jewels. We find it a lot in models of jewels dating from the XVIIIth century but also from the 30’s in the form of ornaments, or brooches. Composed of calcium carbonate, conchiolin, the color of the mother-of-pearl can change with more or less pronounced nuances, which brings to the jewels a unique and very refined brightness. With handmade jewellery, mother-of-pearl remains a mineral material of great quality which knows how to emphasize the softness and the femininity of a person, that’s why we offer pearly jewellery most often to women or young girls.
Mother of pearl can be used in jewellery in its natural state, without treatment, but it can also be dyed. The dyeing allows to obtain the whole range of colours while preserving the inimitable reflections of the mother-of-pearl. It can also be engraved to play with smooth textures with or without reflection.
Some examples of mother-of-pearl jewelry:
Rhodium silver earrings with natural mother-of-pearl of CANYON
Silver and mother-of-pearl earrings tinted in 2 colors with natural pigments LA PETITE SARDINE
Mother of pearl earrings engraved and dyed LA PETITE SARDINE
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