For starters, nature arranges crystals resembling elements like mother-of-pearl (5)
I believe the answer is:
nacre
'mother-of-pearl' is the definition.
(I know that mother-of-pearl can be written as nacre)
'for starters nature arranges crystals resembling elements' is the wordplay.
'for starters' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'nature arranges crystals resembling elements' is 'NACRE'.
'like' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nacre that I've seen before include "inside of shell" , "valuable material" , "Mother-of-pearl from shellfish" , "Pearl's mum" , "Constituent of inlay furniture" .)