Category: Shell Sheet

White MOP ( Silver-Lip ) shell sheet (Pinctada maxima), Australia: a formerly very large shell, used for pistol grips, clothing buttons, fans, and vanity items, which produces the classic white M.O.P., referred to in France...

AGOYA (also AKOYA) OYSTER (Pinctada fucata, also listed as P. martensii), Japan: this is the small shell which is used to produce cultured pearls. Closely related to the larger ocean pearl oysters, but has...

RED ABALONE (Haliotis rufescens), northern California: the biggest abalone in the world, its name refers to the red “bark” covering the outside of the shell. Nacre is pale pink to intense dusky pinks, greens,...

  KOREAN AWABI ABALONE (Haliotis supertexta), S. Korea: a small, pale-colored abalone, which has a fine internal wrinkly/bumpy/wavy figure but possesses almost the same intensity of color and iridescence as Turbo shell! Discover the...

CAPIZ (alt.: KAPIS), or WINDOW SHELL (Placuna placenta), Philippines: round, small (2″-3″), and flat, has been used for centuries in native handicrafts and for making lampshades and primitive transparent windows. It is one of...