Shell jewelry for sale on a beach in Vietnam, 1990Necklaces made in Raratonga, Cook IslandsA Stone Age burial in Brittany dating from 5000-7000 BC shows the skeletons of two women who were buried wearing necklaces made of numerous shells of the sea snail Trivia.
Shell jewelry is jewelry that is primarily made from seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. Shell jewelry is a type of shellcraft. One very common form of shell jewelry is necklaces that are composed of large numbers of beads, where each individual bead is the whole (but often drilled) shell of a small sea snail. Numerous other varieties of shell jewelry are made, including bracelets and earrings.
As well as sea snail shells, shell jewelry also sometimes uses the shells of clams (bivalves) and tusk shells (scaphopods). Occasionally shell jewelry is made from the shells of non-marine mollusks such as the shells of land snails [1], or the shells of freshwater mollusks. Not all shell jewelry is made from whole shells; some kinds are made from parts of shells, including the shell layer known as mother of pearl or nacre, and the "trapdoor" or operculum which is part of some sea snails.
In recent times, inexpensive shell jewelry is often found at tropical beach destinations, where it is offered to tourists as informal wear, or as a souvenir. However, shell jewelry has a very ancient past, and is of great importance in archeology and anthropology. In fact, shell beads are the oldest form of jewelry known, dating back over 100,000 years.
Shelljewelry is jewelry that is primarily made from seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. Shelljewelry is a type of shellcraft. One very common form...
of shelljewelry became highly sought after, and prices skyrocketed. The craftsmanship also became more refined and the lei pūpū puka, puka shell leis...
make puka shelljewelry. Since it is difficult to obtain enough naturally occurring cone snail tops, almost all modern puka shelljewelry uses cheaper...
Niʻihau kahelelani, the puka shell of the wart turbans (Leptothyra verruca), used to make exquisite Niʻihau shelljewelry. Kāʻeokūlani was a ruler of northern...
small items such as shelljewelry and figurines made from shells; middle-sized objects such as boxes and mirror frames covered in shells; sailor's valentines;...
these materials to create jewelry. Contemporary Native American jewelry ranges from hand-quarried and processed stones and shells to computer-fabricated...
there was a small factory near Nukuʻalofa that made simple jewelry from coral and tortoise-shell for sale to Western tourists. It is not clear if this factory...
to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States. These tusk shells are a kind...
nautical themes such as mermaids or dolphins, plastic Ray Ban wayfarers, shelljewelry, feathers, tartan overshirts associated with the surfer subculture,...
shells and associated materials, like their claw-like pearls and nacre, have been used as jewelry and for buttons, buckles, and inlay. These shells have...
several pieces of jewelry, including an apparently handmade metal bracelet containing three turquoise stones, a copper necklace containing shell beads, a pendant...
patterns were added. In the mid-Victorian period, five-color jewelry combined with shells, tassels, mosaics, and other techniques became popular. And because...
and children. Cowrie shells are also worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms. In Mende culture, cowrie shells are viewed as symbols...
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants...
to the Han and practiced similar martial ethos while the women wore shelljewelry and were known to have sexual relations before marriage. They produced...
Ban wayfarers, undercut hairstyles, merman hair and beards dyed blue, shelljewelry, feathers, tartan overshirts associated with the surfer subculture,...
portable artwork from this time includes decorated mirrors, bone and shelljewelry, and unfired clay female effigies. Public architecture, including works...
and as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewelry. The snail has also had some cultural significance...
Mask Temple is a tomb that holds the remains of a man with jade and shelljewelry. Additionally, the tomb once held textiles and mats. Nearby the temple...
from grave goods, which include hollow ceramic figures, obsidian and shelljewelry, pottery, and other items (see this Flickr photo for a reconstruction)...
namely Ka-Lo and his daughter, were festooned with plentiful tattoos and shelljewelry. The chief himself was covered head-to-toe in tattoos of the natural...
shell beads and asphaltum to Southwestern groups, such as and including the Serrano, for ceramics and textiles. Coastal shell beads and shelljewelry...
are also widely sold in inexpensive jewelry. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry, but in the past were also used to...
same mineral contained in nacre, with a microstructure inherited from the shell. It is one of few biogenic gemstones; others include amber and pearl. In...
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