Shell Beads

Frequently asked questions

• Why are spiny oyster and turquoise strung together?

  Because the Southwest pairs them: Spondylus shell and turquoise sit side by side in Navajo, Zuni and Hopi inlay and in Pueblo heishi, orange and red against blue, with coral and jet filling out the palette. The pairing comes ready-made on mixed strands — spiny oyster and turquoise heishi in 4mm to 8mm, rondelles in 4x6mm to 10mm, rounds in 8mm, and Hubei turquoise, lapis and spiny oyster heishi as small as 1x2mm — and in mosaic inlay pendants and coins. On its own, spiny oyster carries the same weight against silver.
• What's the difference between mother of pearl and abalone?

  Both are nacre, the iridescent inner lining of a mollusk shell, but from different animals. Mother of pearl is the lining of pearl oysters and freshwater mussels — white, cream or, from the black-lip oyster, black — with a soft, even sheen. Abalone is the nacre of Haliotis sea snails from Pacific coasts, and paua is the New Zealand species with the strongest color: green, blue, pink and bronze flash with dark streaks. The flash is abalone's defining feature; mother of pearl reads as a quiet iridescent neutral.
• Which shell beads are natural color, and which are dyed?

  Most carry the shell's own color. Spiny oyster is orange, red or purple by species; wampum's purple is the quahog clam's inner layer; queen conch is pink, lion's paw orange and cream, abalone blue-green, mother of pearl white or black. Dyed shell exists across the trade — shell is porous and takes dye readily, so saturated blues, greens and purples on a white shell are usually dyed — and here the strand is titled dyed where it is: blue mother of pearl, green troca. Dyed color can fade in sun and sweat.
• Is queen conch shell legal to buy?

  Yes, with paperwork behind it. Queen conch (Aliger gigas, formerly Strombus gigas) has been listed on CITES Appendix II since 1992: international trade needs an export permit from the source country and import documentation on arrival. Legal queen conch in the U.S. bead trade comes from Caribbean fisheries under those permits, and the pink rounds, rice and clover beads here are that material. Finished pieces sold across a border fall under the same rules.
• Which shells come as heishi beads?

  Nearly all of them, since heishi is the shell cut. Mother of pearl runs thinnest, 1x4mm to 6mm in white; spiny oyster 3mm to 8mm in orange and red, and mixed with turquoise, black lip, hammer shell or wampum on one strand; wampum 6mm to 12mm and graduated 8mm to 14mm; abalone 4mm; brown lip, hammer and purple oyster 5mm; melo, green lip and purple oyster graduated 4mm to 20mm. All are drilled through the center for stringing flat, and the graduated strands are cut to wear as a collar.