These beautiful pair of pink mother of pearl flowers have been made into button earrings. I have backed them with an 18k gold vermeil frame and a post and a clip to keep them firmly on the ear. They are 1" in diameter and make a soft yet dramatic fashion statement.

Mother of pearl is the iridescent substance that forms the lining of the shells of some fresh-water and some salt-water mollusks. Like the pearl it is a secretion made by the animal's mantle and made up of of alternate layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin. It is light reacting with this layering which gives mother of pearl its sheen.

Among the chief sources or mother of pearl are the pearl oyster, found in warm and tropical seas but the substance can also form in the shells of fresh water mollusks.