Pearly shells from the ocean, shiny baubles quite divine—we've got that and more. Hawaii's jewelry makers are masters of the art of adornment.
In the beginning, there was the palaoa, a whale’s tooth hung on a necklace of woven hair, an amulet reserved for the alii. The palaoa set the course for
Island-style adornment: Hawaii’s earliest artists used material formed in nature’s incubator—shell, bone, coral, feathers, fiber—to craft their jewelry.
With new immigrants to the Islands came new materials—jade, gold, pearls, glass, silver—and new aesthetics born from different cultural impulses.
But the newcomers, too, ultimately bowed to tropical color and form: the waxy geometry of sunburst heliconia, the kaleidoscopic hues of an inshore reef.
Today, artisans throughout the Islands channel a spirit of place. Some are fine artists, some hearken to craft traditions, but all have mastered the art of
making small creations into talismans that connect our Islands to admiring eyes from around the world. On these pages, meet six Hawaii jewelers: a bone
carver, two beading wonders, a pearl artist, a trash transformer, a seashell queen and a gold star. Their body adornments appeal to vastly different
audiences—but whether a piece is an artifact of Polynesian tradition or an ingenious comment on contemporary living, such portable badges of Island
sensibility have a way of drawing the jeweler and wearer into the same inspired fold.
HH: Why pearls?
JS: Pearls are very emotional in their appeal. They used to be considered elitist in the way a necklace could be passed down in wealthy families for
generations. I never experienced this. I like the idea that as elegant as pearls are, they’ve now become so accessible.
HH: Why is that?
JS: New pearl culturing technology, especially in China, is producing every imaginable size, shape, color and luster.
HH: Where would you like to go with this?
JS: So many mentors have given to me—like Aunty Mihana Souza, who asked me do to the pearl version of her trademark Puamana shell lei. I want to
give back. One day I’d like to teach pearl jewelry-making at a women’s shelter or an elder-care home. Once you feel the mana of the pearls, it’s
very rewarding.
