ArtFire

The natural beauty of this mother of pearl abalone shell necklace is enhanced by the graceful curve of the darkened copper handmade bail that has been attached to the pendant. The pendant is so iridescent and lustrous, that's all the treatment it needed. Along with its dazzling colors, the shape and texture of the pendant all come together to provide a virtual feast for the eyes.

The mother of pearl pendant hangs on black leather cord and the ends of the cord have been fitted with antiqued coiled copper wire components of my own original design which provide a beautiful, elegant finishing touch to the necklace. More importantly, they are very secure - you will never have to worry about the cord slipping out of these components. A hand crafted oxidized copper spiral hook clasp completes this fabulous necklace.

Mother-of-pearl has a long and diverse history. According to the American Museum of Natural History(nd), "Throughout history, certain cultures have placed little or no value on pearls and have focused instead on luminescent mother-of-pearl from mollusk shells, mainly abalone. Before the 19th century, Japanese shell divers who found pearls apparently did not bother to keep them. Polynesian children are said at one time to have used pearls as marbles. Abalone was also popular with many groups, including those in the Americas: people ate the flesh of the mollusks and used pieces of colorful abalone shell as inlay on carved objects made of wood, ivory and bone."

Mother of pearl was also used for decoration and made into containers, carvings and buttons.

The popularity of mother of pearl continues today; no jewelry collection is complete without at least one exquisite piece made of this wonderful material. This necklace fits the bill to a T.

The pendant measures 1.75 inches/45 millimeters in length and the length of the necklace is 20 inches/400 millimeters.