Beautifull Vintage Silver brooch with double Mabe blister pearl shell
No silver mark on the metal but tests for silver.
Approximately 5cm x 3.2cm. Tube hinge and Rollover clasp.
Mabe blister Pearls are quite different from what you might consider “normal” pearls. The reason for this stems from the way that mabe pearls are formed. Mabe pearls are considered to be “semi-spherical cultured pearls”. Instead of growing inside the body of the mollusk creature, as is the case with other pearls, mabe pearls grow against the inside shell.
To culture a mabe pearl, the process is different than culturing round pearls. It is accomplished by inserting the nucleus flush against the side of the mollusk – which is the Mabe Pearl Oyster (Pteria penguin), also called Penguin Wing Oyster – causing the oyster to make its nacre deposits over the nucleus, and against the inside of its shell, forming a semi-spherical pearl.
Depending on the desired size, 2 to 6 years are needed for each pearl.
The mabe pearl first reached its popularity in the end of the 19th century, and from that time until the mid 20th century, many different efforts were made to attempt to cultivate the mabe pearl – most of which were in vain.
Finally in 1970 researchers established breeding techniques for the mabe pearl oyster, followed five years later by the mass production of cultured pearl harvests. (https://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/What-are-Mabe-Pearls-/10000000017338726/g.html)
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