Pearl armor

Pearl armor was a heavy and ornate type of armor fashioned by the shalarins of the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Description
Pearl armor had roughly the same durability and bulk as plate mail, although it was much lighter. Still, the armor made swimming more difficult, and so it was rarely worn over the full body as this impediment to mobility was seen as outweighing its protective utility. Instead, it was usually worn only on the upper body (either as a tabbard over the full torso or just over the chest and one arm) or only on the lower body (as either a kilt, pants, or wrap).

Pearl armor was created by carefully inserting clothing&mdash;often woven from sheeps' coral&mdash;into the mouth of a giant clam and allowing it to sit for two months. At this point, it was removed and the shalarin used special spells to harden the mucus-coated garments into tempered pearl.

Usage
Pearl armor was one of two types of armor favored by the shalarin of Serôs, the other being the much lighter silverweave armor. Pearl armor was the more ornamental of the two.