"Mother of Pearl" Collection

I was contemplating the mother of pearl shell and why the shell reflects color in one direction and when you turn it around it looses color and beauty. It's been said, "If you want to understand something you must become it." I really believe this. I have learned that mother of pearl shell is made up of millions of micro layers which give it color and shine. I felt the need to see the actual nacre structure and understand how it behaves when reacting to light. I took the shell to Cal-Tech and looked at it under an electron microscope. The nacre structure is a diffraction grating effect. Interestingly, the grating layer is constructed in an angle like a stairway; one layer on top of another. For example, if you stand on the highest step of a stairway looking downward you will see light reflecting from the top surface of each step of the stairway. But when you are standing at the bottom of the stairway you will only see the sides and the empty space between each step of the stairway. From this view light is trapped and this is why the shell looses color when being viewed in this direction. This simple observation is so important in cutting mother of pearl. At Galatea we have mastered this technique and each design is carefully cut in the direction which reveals the most brilliance. A shell is not just a shell and a sound is not just a sound. It can be music to the eyes.

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Mother of Pearl 4102
Mother of Pearl 4102
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Our price: $912.00