Pearloid is a plastic that is intended to resemble mother of pearl. It is commonly used in making musical instruments, especially for pickguard

Pickguard

A pickguard is a piece of plastic or other laminated material that is placed under the strings on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument...

s, electric guitars

Electric Guitars

Electric Guitars were formed early in 1980 by Neil Davenport and Richard Hall who were both studying English at Bristol University. The band soon increased to a five-man line-up, with Andy Saunders , Matt Salt and Dick Truscott , they also later added two backing singers: Sara and Wendy...

, and accordions.

Production

Pearloid is produced by swirling together chunks of celluloid

Celluloid

Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is...

 in a solvent

Solvent

A solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution that is soluble in a certain volume of solvent at a specified temperature...

, then curing. It is sliced and bonded to other materials such as wood, to give the mother of pearl effect.

Use

Pearloid is used in any context where genuine mother of pearl or abalone

Abalone

Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...

 might be used, as it is much cheaper and doesn't deplete the supply of the natural material. Gibson

Gibson

Gibson may refer to:* Gibson Amphitheatre* Gibson Appliance* Gibson Girl* Gibson Guitar Corporation* Gibson * Gibson Generating Station-Places:In the United States:* Gibson, Arkansas* Gibson, Georgia* Gibson, Iowa* Gibson, Louisiana...

 uses it as a substitute for the mother of pearl inlays in the fretboards of their less expensive guitars. Various colored versions are often used on items intended to have a retro

Retro

Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...

 appearance. Pearloid is sometimes referred to, colloquially as mother of toilet seat.