Mother-of-Pearl vs. Pearloid, do you know what is the difference between mother-of-pearl and Pearloid?
Mother-of-Pearl vs. Pearloid, What is mother-of-pearl?
Biological characteristics of mother-of-pearl
Mother-of-pearl mussels are bivalve shellfish that usually live in shallow waters, mainly in coral reefs and rocky seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
Their fan-shaped shells have a white or yellowish outer shell with a distinctive iridescent luster. Mother-of-pearl shells are usually small, ranging from about 5 to 15 centimeters.
Mother-of-pearl shells that live in the deep sea are larger, often growing to over 20 centimeters, with the longest reaching 30 centimeters.
This type of mother-of-pearl shell is conical in shape and consists of several layers of interlocking lamellae, usually yellowish, light brown, or blackish.
Preciousness of mother-of-pearl
Mother-of-pearl shells are loved mainly because of their ability to produce pearls. Mother-of-pearl shells secrete a precious substance, nacre, in response to external stimuli and gradually form pearls.
Mother-of-Pearl vs. Pearloid, What is Pearloid?
Pearloid is made by spinning large pieces of celluloid together in a solvent and then curing them, which gives it a mother-of-pearl effect.
Derived from the appearance of this material under a microscope. It resembles mother-of-pearl, with a natural layered structure similar to some shellfish. Generally mother-of-pearl is moderately strong compared to other ferrous alloys, and in addition, mother-of-pearl has a wide range of uses.
Mother-of-pearl is produced by continuous layer deposition rather than as a result of special treatment by eutectic mixing, but it has the hardness and strength characteristic of layered materials.
What are the types of pearloid organizations?
Depending on the size of the lamellar spacing, pearloid can be classified into three types, known as coarse pearloid (or pearloid for short), sohnite, and flexo-pearloid.
How to make Pearloid? What are the applications?
Pearloid is a plastic that resembles mother-of-pearl. Pearloid is made by spinning large pieces of celluloid together in a solvent and then curing them, which gives it a mother-of-pearl effect.
It is processed into slices and bonded or inlaid into other materials, such as the wood of guitar necks. It is commonly used in the making of musical instruments, especially for guards, electric guitar fretboard inlays, and accordions.
Industrially it is utilized in the carbon steel construction industry, where the steel is less prone to brittle fracture and metal fatigue, making it well suited to certain applications. Brittle fracture of steel is a concern in some cases, so non-pearlized steel is preferred.
Genuine mother-of-pearl or abalone inlay products are inherently very costly due to the complexity of the process and its high-value materials, as well as the fact that it is purely handmade.
Therefore, Pearloid is used in imitation abalone inlays, replacing abalone with it because it is a synthetic, much cheaper, and cosmetically, acceptable to people.
For example, guitar manufacturers use it as a replacement for the mother-of-pearl inlays found on most guitar fretboards. Of course, other electric instruments have a similar situation, and different colors of Pearloid are widely used.
Besides this Mother-of-Pearl vs. Pearloid, What is the Difference article, you may also be interested in the below articles.
16 Different Types of Mosaic Tiles
Tahitian Pearl vs. South Sea Pearl
