Rajasthani Jewelry

Shellac Jewellery
Shellac jewelry includes all the items of jewelry that have a modern design and are made of contemporary materials while retaining the best of traditional aspects.
Shellac is obtained from the scale insects , Laccifer lacca. It is quite commonly found in India and Thailand. These insects secrete this resin during their reproductive cycle. The bug has a life cycle of six months during this it feeds itself on the tree sap and secrets this resin to form a shell around, specially the female insect that grows an enormous shell for eggs incubation. After about six months, the new larvae break off the cocoon and move away to other feeding grounds.
The female insect is the major producer of the shellac. The lac is in the form of small grains of the size of an apple seed. When removed from the tree as a raw material for shellac, it is called sticklac. This consists of the resin, twigs, remains of the bug etc. It has to be crushed washed and dried before use.
Shellac is hard and odorless when cold, but has a characteristic smell on heating or melting. Superior grades are light yellow in color, while the inferior grades range from deep orange brown to almost dark red. It is a powerful bonding material with low thermal conductivity. It is resistant to the action of ultraviolet rays and is non-toxic.