A Mabe Pearl or cultured blister 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. The half-pearl grows into a domed blister as the hemispherical nucleus is covered with a sufficient amount of nacre
The blister pearl is then cut away from the inner shell, the half-pearl 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.
