This oval Pāua pendant was born from the sea’s silent artistry.
Lovingly hand-carved into a smooth oval, each contour of this pendant captures the innate beauty of New Zealand Pāua shell—its iridescent tones quietly shimmering in blues, greens, and pinks like moonlight over water. More than just ornament, it is a luminous reflection of ancestral stars and ocean memory.
In Māori carving, Pāua shell often symbolizes whetū—the stars and the eyes of ancestors watching over their kin  . Worn close to the heart, this pendant becomes a bridge between worlds—land and sea, past and present, visible and spirit.
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Spiritual & Cultural Meaning • Ancestral Stars: The shell’s iridescence embodies the presence of the stars, guiding and comforting across time . • Intuition & Serenity: Pāua is revered for soothing energy, emotional clarity, and spiritual perception . • Sacred Taonga: Beyond its beauty, Pāua is a Māori treasure, weaving together artistry, cultural identity, and the ocean’s quiet whisper  .
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Radiant Structure
Scientifically, Pāua’s shimmering magic lies in its nacre—the strong, layered inner shell made of aragonite tablets held together by an organic matrix . The way light dances through these layers creates the “peacock effect,” transforming a simple shell into oceanic light captured in stone.
Scientific Composition & Structure
Pāua shell (Haliotis iris) is composed primarily of calcium carbonate in the mineral form aragonite, arranged in microscopic, overlapping platelets bound by a protein matrix called conchiolin. This structure—known as nacre or “mother-of-pearl”—is one of nature’s strongest composite materials, combining hardness with remarkable fracture resistance.
The vivid iridescence comes from thin-film interference, where light waves reflect and refract between the layers of aragonite platelets. This creates shifting colours of greens, blues, purples, and pinks that change with the viewing angle, known as structural coloration.
Hardness: ~3.5 on the Mohs scale Crystal System: Orthorhombic (aragonite form of CaCO₃) Refractive Index: 1.530–1.685 Specific Gravity: ~2.85
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Features • Material: Genuine New Zealand Pāua shell (abalone) • Shape: Hand-carved smooth oval — a uniquely shaped talisman • Finish: Polished to highlight natural shimmer • Cord: Ready to wear with adjustable cord or choose a custom chain • Size: Approximately 30–40 mm—each pendant uniquely shaped by the shell’s natural form
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A Talisman To Carry
Wear this pendant as: • A guide during quiet reflection or meditation • A touchstone for emotional clarity and calm • A cultural token linking spirit, sea, and lineage • A wearable reminder that nature’s simplest forms can speak directly to the heart
