Mabe Pearl (MB)

A mabe pearl is a half-spherical cultured pearl grown on the inside shell of a mollusk, as opposed to inside a mollusk's body. Mabe pearls are grown by glueing a plastic hemisphere onto the inside of a mollusk's shell. Once the hemispherical nucleus is covered with a sufficient amount of nacre, the pearl is cut away from the inner shell, the bead taken out, and the cavity filled with a substance such as epoxy resin and backed by a mother-of-pearl plate. Mabe pearls are sometimes referred to as blister pearls.