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Mother-of-pearl was one of the most commonly used materials for button production until the 1950s, a decade in which polyester took over due to its ease of production and processing compared to trocas, which was instead complex and fragile.

Today, mother-of-pearl remains one of the most prestigious materials overall, worthy of the highest-quality garments. However, its production is a taboo that every producer knows: specific machines, lengthy and still very manual processes, in addition to the need of using chemical products for the finishing.

For example, one of the phases that complicates the process is the flattening of the disks to make them workable. When the washers are cut from the shell, they are irregular on the surfaces and have a “crust” that identifies the back.

In this condition, it’s practically impossible to feed the machines, which instead require much more regular disks to avoid jamming and ensure smooth, defect-free turning.

This process is one of many that requires constant manual labor and significantly increases costs

What if all of this were to change and the process were to be automated? 

One of the themes of EXPO100 will be precisely the automation of the button manufacturing process, with very interesting innovations regarding mother-of-pearl. 

Come visit us to learn more!