I'm really not a big fan of organic gems, but as I went through the organic gems forum I was surprised there was no seashell discussion here, so decided to create one.
Indeed, if mother of pearl and coral are regarded as gems, then definitely some seashell species could also be regarded as gem material, and there's clearly some jewellery potential there.
Let's start with cowries: Cowries, also known as 'porcelain' are a group of marine gastropods in the family Cypraeidae. Some species in the family Ovulidae and Trivia are also often referred to as cowries. Uses of cowries: as charms, for divination, for decorative and ceremonial purposes, used very extensively in jewelery. Have historically been used as currency in several parts of the world. Here are a few pics:
Cypraea mappa (note: similar pattern in Cypraea geographica)
Cypraea cervus
Cypraea talpa
Cypraea tigris (note: similar pattern in Cypraea pantherina)
Cypraea aurantium
Lyncina argus
Cypraea albuginosa
Cribrarula garciai (note: similar pattern in Cribrarula cumingii)
Erosaria beckii
Annepona mariae
Palmadusta diluculum
Mauritia histrio
Luria isabella (note: similar pattern in Luria controversa)
Zoila rosselli
Cypraea eludens
Cypraea mauritiana (note: similar pattern in Mauritia depressa and M. maculifera)
Mauritia asiatica (note: similar pattern in Mauritia arabica)
Cypraea fultoni
Monetaria caputdraconis (note: similar pattern in Monetaria caputserpentis)
Jenneria pustulata (Jenner's cowry)
Cypraea Annulus (C. annulus and C. moneta have both been used as currency)
Last edited by cascaillou on Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:37 pm, edited 54 times in total.
Certainly one of the first universal adornments of mankind. Everywhere in the world they were treasured in one way or the other. Used as currency until very recently (maybe still?) in many parts of the world.
_________________ I just dreamed that I was a butterfly.
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, venomous marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Uses: Naturally-occurring, beachworn cone shell "tops" (the broken-off spire of the shell, which usually end up with a hole worn at the tip) can function as beads without any further modification, in Hawaii, these natural beads were traditionally collected from the beach drift to make puka shell jewelry.
Conus textile
Conus gloriamaris
Conus aulicus
Conus cedonulli (incredible pattern!)
Conus litteratus (note: similar pattern in Conus leopardus)
Conus marmoreus
Conus generalis
Conus bengalensis
Conus hirasei
Conus gubernator
Conus mustelinus (note: similar pattern in Conus capitaneus)
Conus excelsus
Conus nobilis victor skinneri
Last edited by cascaillou on Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:20 pm, edited 47 times in total.
Black-Lip Pearl Oyster (Pinctada margaritifera) with pearl
Let's note that besides Pinctada species, two other big sized seashells that are used as commercial sources for mother-of-pearl are Turbo marmoratus and Tectus niloticus:
Polished Nautilus shell (very pearly)
Abalone (Haliotis species) and abalone pearls
Queen conch (Strombus gigas) and conch pearls
Clanculus pharconius (strawberry top shell)
At last, while Murex Pecten has no potential as jewellery material, it is such an incredible seashell that I had to share:
Last edited by cascaillou on Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:23 pm, edited 23 times in total.
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:04 pm Posts: 1642 Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Tim wrote:
1991-1750 BC Middle Kingdom, Egypt
~4000 years and not feeling them. It looks so "modern" to me. Maybe "timeless" would be more appropriate. I'd should add that it's very difficult to really impress me with a jewelry piece...
Another notable use of the nautilus shells was to make very expensive goblets, which can be seen in still-life paintings of the time. From how they look in the paintings, anyway, they sure were beautiful.
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