Vintage Mother-of-Pearl Necklace

Mother-of-pearl is exactly what it sounds like: the iridescent inner layer of the mollusk's shell, the material that lines the inside of the oyster and, in cultivated pearls, serves as the nucleus around which the pearl grows. It is the mother that gives birth to the pearl — the luminous surface that nurtures the gem. When cut, polished, and set into jewelry, mother-of-pearl has a shimmering, opalescent quality that shifts between pink, green, and pale blue as it catches light from different angles — the colors of the aurora, rendered in shell rather than sky.

This necklace features vintage-style mother-of-pearl elements set in sterling silver on a chain with freshwater pearl accents. The mother-of-pearl is carved or inlaid in a design that evokes vintage jewelry — perhaps a floral motif, perhaps a geometric pattern, perhaps a simple, elegant shape that lets the material's natural iridescence do all the work. The vintage finish on the silver — darkened in recesses, bright on raised surfaces — gives the piece the look of something discovered in a grandmother's jewelry box, a piece with history and patina.

• Genuine mother-of-pearl — natural iridescence shifting between pink, green, and blue
• Vintage-style sterling silver setting with antique finish
• Freshwater pearl accents
• Sterling silver chain and clasp
• Nickel-free and hypoallergenic

Mother-of-pearl has been used in adornment for as long as human beings have lived near the sea and harvested shellfish — which is to say, for as long as there have been human beings. To wear it now is to participate in that most ancient tradition: the impulse to take the inside of a shell — the part the mollusk made for itself — and turn it into something beautiful for a human body. Style this necklace with vintage-inspired looks, romantic dresses, and the particular beauty of something that looks like it has a story to tell. A piece for the woman who values the past not for its own sake, but for the depth it adds to the present.