Product Details

Striking vintage shell lei necklace measuring approximately 20” overall, with about 17.5” of dense shellwork. The necklace appears to feature hundreds of tiny natural kahelelani-type shells in beautifully varied shades of cream, brown, gray, olive and soft pink, finished with polished black beads and a barrel clasp. Kahelelani shells are prized for their extremely small size, naturally intricate patterns and the painstaking work required to collect, sort, pierce and sew them into dense lei-style jewelry. This necklace has a rich, dimensional poepoe-style appearance and showcases the unique color variation of each individual shell. Origin and Niʻihau provenance are unverified, so it is being sold as kahelelani-type shell jewelry, not as authenticated Niʻihau shell jewelry. Vintage pre-owned condition; please review all photos for shell, stringing and clasp condition.