Tag Archive | abalone jewellery

She sells sea shells part 2

I love nature jewellery, inspired by birds or flowers or animals. And it seems appropriate as beach time is on us that I have a lot of shell jewellery at the moment, either made from shells or depicting them. All are for sale in my Etsy shop: click on the photos for details.

Victorian mother of pearl and abalone necklace.

Victorian mother of pearl and abalone necklace. (NOW SOLD).

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Vintage shell earrings. (NOW SOLD).

Abalone and sterling silver pendant.

Abalone and sterling silver pendant. (NOW SOLD).

Mother of pearl and onyx cufflinks.

Vintage mother of pearl and onyx cufflinks. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage abalone and stainless steel brooch.

1960s abalone and stainless steel brooch. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage Art Deco mother of pearl dress clip.

Art Deco mother of pearl dress clip. (NOW SOLD).

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Vintage abalone heart pendant. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage 835 Portuguese silver bracelet.

Vintage 835 Portuguese silver bracelet. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage stainless steel and abalone brooch.

1960s stainless steel and abalone brooch. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage Carl M Cohr silver bangle bracelet.

Vintage Danish silver Carl M Cohr bangle bracelet. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage Mexican abalone and silver pendant and chain.

Vintage Mexican abalone and silver pendant and chain. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage modernist black abalone ring.

Vintage modernist black abalone ring. (NOW SOLD).

Antique Arts and Crafts blister pearl brooch.

Antique Arts and Crafts blister pearl brooch.

Vintage seed pearl ring.

Vintage seed pearl ring. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage Arts and Crafts style pendant with pearl dangle.

Vintage Arts and Crafts style pendant with freshwater pearl dangle. (NOW SOLD).

Shelly, pearly, silvery, nacreous loveliness.

She sells sea shells

I love learning new things. I had a prospective customer contact me recently about an Art Deco abalone and mother of pearl brooch for sale in my Etsy shop. She mentioned it would pair nicely with her maireener necklaces in the same colours. I’d never come across the word maireener before, so scurried off to google for a quick search, and learned it is a type of sea shell found only in Australia, is also known as the rainbow kelp shell, and has been used by Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples in their jewellery for millennia. Aunty Dulcie Greeno is an Aboriginal woman living in Launceston in Tasmania, and she continues the tradition, making beautiful necklaces which she sells. She travels twice a year to the Furneaux Islands, where she was born, to collect the shells.

A maireener (rainbow kelp shell) necklace by Aunt Dulcie.

A maireener (rainbow kelp shell) necklace by Aunty Dulcie Greeno. Simply gorgeous!

I find shell jewellery so attractive, and I’m guessing other people do too as it accounts for a good proportion of my sales so far. I have already sold a stunning Arts and Crafts abalone brooch attributed to Scottish jeweller Mary Thew, and a small abalone and silver brooch with a triangular motif.  I have a couple more still for sale—my favourite of all my pieces is an Art Nouveau abalone and silver brooch, and I also have the funky Art Deco brooch mentioned above, and a Mexican abalone and silver pendant and chain.

There’s something about the iridescent peacock colours of abalone I find absolutely irresistible—the opals of the sea!  Or as my prospective customer so eloquently put it: ‘Excellent elegant mermaid wear’.

Arts and Crafts abalone and silver brooch, attributed to Scottish jeweller Mary Thew.

Arts and Crafts abalone and silver brooch, attributed to Scottish jeweller Mary Thew (NOW SOLD).

Detail of the abalone plaque.

Detail of the abalone plaque

Silver and abalone brooch (SOLD).

Silver and abalone brooch (NOW SOLD).

Stunning Art Nouveau abalone and silver brooch, for sale at Inglenookery.

Stunning Art Nouveau abalone and silver brooch, for sale at Inglenookery. (NOW SOLD).

Art Deco abalone and mother of pearl brooch, for sale at Inglenookery.

Art Deco abalone and mother of pearl brooch, for sale at Inglenookery. (NOW SOLD).

Vintage Mexican sterling silver and abalone pendant and chain, for sale at Inglenookery.

Vintage Mexican sterling silver and abalone pendant and chain, for sale at Inglenookery. (NOW SOLD).