Sharing a creation I made yesterday!
I made a chaplet with some beads I ordered online.
I ordered it from Shopee online, I got it a few days after and I was able to make some prayer beads!
The design of this is like marble, black and white but there's mother of pearl design all over it (as you may notice the shiny parts)
this is one of my favorite natural ornaments. It has this creamy luster with colorful rainbow hues all over. Usually when we eat clams, they throw it away but I don't know how many people take time to appreciate how beautiful this is.
One article says:
How is Mother of Pearl Different from Pearls?
Both mother of pearl and pearl gemstones are made of nacre, but mother of pearl refers specifically to the nacre-coated inner-shell of the mollusk. Pearls, on the other hand, are made completely out of nacre. When an irritant gets trapped inside a mollusk, the mollusk, in order to protect itself, coats this irritant with layers upon layers of nacre until it develops into a pearl three to four years later.
Link: https://www.lagunapearl.com/blog/2019/02/13/what-is-mother-of-pearl/
What about Nacre?
I am curious as I write this
LETS ASK WIKI for a bit,
Wikipedia says,
Nacre (/ˈneɪkər/ NAY-kər also /ˈnækrə/ NAK-rə),[1] also known as mother of pearl, is an organic–inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is found in some of the most ancient lineages of bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods. However, the inner layer in the great majority of mollusc shells is porcellaneous, not nacreous, and this usually results in a non-iridescent shine, or more rarely in non-nacreous iridescence such as flame structure as is found in conch pearls. The outer layer of cultured pearls and the inside layer of pearl oyster and freshwater pearl mussel shells are made of nacre. Other mollusc families that have a nacreous inner shell layer include marine gastropods such as the Haliotidae, the Trochidae and the Turbinidae.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacre
Hold up! look at the layers of NACRE in a mollusk shell
Amazing isn't it? When you understand more about nature, you find the simplest things most valuable and special.
Making it!
I used silver plated chain, I chose the more sophisticated style of chain so it fits the old classic or antique style. I also have the golden wire (fancy) so it is two toned.
Finished product!
it was real nice to make a new design for this! Hopefully I can make more! This is a st. Michael chaplet dedicated to him, the archangels, our guardian angels and the celestial choirs of angels. Here is a link to the prayer: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/chaplet-of-st-michael-the-archangel-386
At least this has become significant for me to talk and study about something that has been in plain sight but do we know the antiquity and concrete build up of the mollusk shell?
Enjoy your day and night!
Thanks for studying with me!