South Korean scientists have revived the ancient craft of sea silk by recreating the rare golden fibre using a sustainable alternative species.
The research was led by Professor Dong Soo Hwang of Postech and Professor Jimin Choi of the Environmental Research Institute.
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Their study focused on Atrina pectinata, a pen shell clam commonly farmed for food in Korean coastal waters.
The team succeeded in reproducing sea silk, a fabric once prized in the Roman era and reserved for emperors and popes.
Sea silk was traditionally made from byssus threads produced by Pinna nobilis, a Mediterranean clam now driven towards extinction by pollution and environmental damage.
The European Union has banned harvesting Pinna nobilis, leaving sea silk largely confined to history and produced only in tiny quantities by a few remaining artisans.
Researchers found that byssus threads from Atrina pectinata closely matched the physical and chemical properties of traditional sea silk fibres.
Using this discovery, they developed a method to process the threads and recreate the fabric’s distinctive shimmering appearance.
The study also revealed that sea silk’s long-lasting golden colour comes from structural coloration rather than dyes or metals.
Professor Hwang said the colour is created by nanoscale protein structures known as photonins, which reflect light in stable layered forms, and the findings were published in Advanced Materials.
