Mother of Pearl

Mother of Pearl (also known as nacre) is the coating developed when pearls are created. It is often used to decorate jewellery. Like pearls, mother-of-pearl comes from all over the world and can be found in saltwater and freshwater. Mother-of-pearl sources include Australia, Japan, Central America, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Manaar (between India and Sri Lanka), Madagascar, Burma (Myanmar), the Philippines, the South Pacific Islands, South America, China, French Polynesia, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

Appearance
Like pearls, mother-of-pearl can be white, gray, silver, yellow, blue-green, bronze, pink, red, brown, black or banded. Mother-of-pearl tends to be used mostly as inlay, or carved into cameos and other fancy shapes, such as flowers. Cameos are sometimes placed onto a contrasting backing, to make them stand out.