Melanie Georgacopoulo: MOP Shell Collection

Mother of Pearl, otherwise known as nacre is produced by mollusks as an inner shell layer, it also makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is a strong, resilient and iridescent material that has been used for thousands of years, mainly in the form of inlay.

Natural Mother of Pearl has many different applications worldwide, in both expensive and inexpensive items. It can be commonly found in East Asian and Islamic religious art, popular Victorian household items such as knife handles and buttons, as well as Chinese gaming counters and delicate caviar spoons. As a material it is more widely used than pearls, however, despite its popularity, it has never reached the pearls symbolic status.

This collection aims to explore the potential of MOP and its various beautiful, rich colours. By taking this flat material and creating seamless three dimensional diamond and emerald forms, Melanie pushes further her exploration into the relationship between gemstones and pearls in contemporary jewellery.

www.melaniegeorgacopoulo.com