What is Tortoiseshell?
Tortoiseshell, or tortie in a commercial sense, is a mottled brown, black and sometimes orange pattern, often made of plastic, which is used to make a variety of products. These may include the frames of regular eyeglasses or sunglasses, buttons, and a number of decorative and useful hair clips and designs. Tortoiseshell bases its design on the shell markings of the hawksbill turtle, and initially tortoiseshell was made from the turtle. Tortoiseshell made from its original source was used in many decorative ways. There are tortoiseshell frames for pictures in the Renaissance, tortoiseshell tea sets, and tortoiseshell jewelry boxes. The earliest use of tortoiseshell dates back to decorative uses in China and Japan. Often, a whole turtle shell was lacquered and used as a bowl. The Ancient Greeks and early Romans also used tortoise shell in jewelry, to back hairbrushes and in hair ornaments. Unfortunately, trade in true tortoiseshell had a devastating effect on the hawksbill turtle popula
