Today the various shell buttons are manifestation of the tendency towards the use of natural materials that is quire steady in recent decades. Shell, the raw material they are manufactured of, is very close in composition to the true pearls. It is secreted by the mollusc in its attempt to make the shell perfectly smooth and to prevent itself from the irritating effect of foreign matter and parasites that have got inside the shell. Actually it represents platelets of calcium carbonate, arranged parallel to the surface. These layers are separated by sheets of elastic biopolymers that contribute to the shell strength. When you select shell buttons, remember that the difference between them and the true pearls is very small. In the pearls the platelets of calcium carbonate are arranged perpendicular to the surface and radial to the irritant that later transforms into a core of pearl. The shell colour may range from dark to white, depending on the type of mollusc that produces it. Its characteristic features are the brilliance and the change of colour with the change of the angle from which it is observed. During the millennia shell shells have been used for different purposes, from a medium of exchange to impressive material for jewellery, cameos and works of art, and of course – for brilliant shell buttons.