Spiny Oyster Shell & Mixed Gemstone 6mm Smooth Rondelle Bead - 8" Strand (GEM914)

• 6mm Spiny Oyster & Mixed Gemstone smooth rondelle bead
• 8" Strand
• Approximately 7 beads per inch
• Gemstones on the strands may include:
• Turquoise
• Green Aventurine
• Sodalite
• Each strand is slightly different based on the one-of-a-kind nature of the stones

DID YOU KNOW...

The material called, “Spiny Oyster,” used by Native American artists to make inlays in fine jewelry, comes from the shell of the bivalve mollusk, Spondylus varius. The genus’ scientific name, “Spondylus,” means “spines on its back.

Spiny oysters are not actually oysters; they’re more closely related to scallops. They are bivalve mollusks who live the warm waters in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) on the Baja Peninsula and thrive from North Carolina to Brazil. Their hinged shells have dangerous looking spines which serve as protection, giving them their name.

Spiny oyster was harvested by free diving down to collect the bivalves. It is still done the same way today, although many divers use air tanks when diving. The way it’s collected often determines its price. The deeper and more dangerous to collect, the more expensive it will be.

Spiny oyster is plentiful, unlike ongoing ocean-warming concerns with coral. It’s found in white, pink, yellow, orange, red, purple,