“Floating” Puka Shell Necklace

About Puka Shells - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puka_shell

Puka shells originally were naturally occurring bead-like objects which could be found on some beaches in Hawaii. These were beach-worn pieces of cone snail shells, a kind of seashell. Puka is the Hawaiian word for "hole" and refers to the naturally occurring hole in the middle of these rounded shell fragments.

Numerous inexpensive imitations are now widely sold however, the majority of which are not made from cone shells but from other shells or even from plastic. Some strings of beads are currently sold that are made from cone shells, but the majority of these have been worked by hand with pliers from whole shells and then subjected to some tumble finishing, instead of being formed entirely by natural processes.

The original puka shell beads were very easily made into necklaces, bracelets and anklets because they already had a natural hole which enabled them to be strung like beads. Puka shell jewelry first became popular in Hawaii during the 1960s as an attractive and inexpensive lei which could be made quickly and sold right on the beach where it was fashioned. In the 1970s, they became highly sought, and the prices skyrocketed. The craftsmanship also became more refined and the lei pupu puka, puka shell lei, were strung in graduated or matching styles, rather than the original random patterns. Many "legends" of the puka shell were created during this time, which helped sales.

Natural puka shell formation

The shell of a cone snail is cone-shaped, and closed at the larger end. When the dead shell is rolled for a long time by the waves in the breaking surf and coral rubble, the narrow end of the shell breaks off or is gradually ground off, leaving only the more solid top of the shell intact.

Given enough time, the tip of the spire of the shell usually also wears down, and thus a natural hole is formed from one side to the other. This shell fragment can be considered to be a sort of a natural bead, and is known as a "puka". Real puka shells are not flat: one side of the bead is slightly convex, the other concave. The concave side of the bead clearly shows the spiral form of the interior of the spire of the cone shell.

About Puka Shell Necklaces

Hawaiians typically give puka necklaces to wish the recipient goodwill or good luck. If given to a sailor, a puka necklace is supposed to help bring him home safely.

Puka Shells for Good Luck

Finding puka shells is good luck. The more perfectly symmetrical the shell, the better your luck will be.