Mother-of-Pearl

The story of mother-of-pearl

Mother-of-pearl is nacre, the same material as a pearl, which molluscs lay down to line the inside of their shells. It is built from thousands of microscopic layers, so thin that light bends as it passes between them, which is why it shimmers and shifts colour every time it moves.

Its colours depend on the shell and the water it grew in: creamy white and silver from pearl oysters, soft pink and gold, smoky grey and near-black, and the swirling blues and greens of abalone. Every shell lays down its layers in its own pattern, so no two pieces ever catch the light the same way.

In Persian it is sadaf, the same word as for the shell itself. The waters of the Persian Gulf, around islands such as Kish, were famous for their pearls for centuries, and mother-of-pearl has long been used for inlay in Iranian woodwork and decoration. At Ashayer, it is chosen and cut to show off its shifting light.