Paua Pearl
A rare blue-green pearl from the New Zealand paua, an abalone. Almost always a cultured half-pearl rather than a whole one.
Paua is the Maori name for a species of abalone found only around New Zealand, whose shell is among the most vividly iridescent in the world.
Its colours run peacock blue, green and violet, and a paua pearl carries the same flash in three dimensions.
Abalone are extremely difficult to culture, because they are haemophiliac and bleed to death from the incision. Almost all paua pearls are therefore mabe-style half pearls, grown against the shell.
What you will hear
“Paua and abalone jewellery are the same as paua pearls.”
In fact: Most paua jewellery is cut and polished shell, not pearl. It is lovely and honest when described as shell; it is not a pearl.
When you are buying
Genuine paua pearls are scarce and priced accordingly. Far more common are paua shell pieces, which use the same beautiful material cut from the shell rather than grown as a pearl, at a small fraction of the price.
Abalone Pearl
A natural pearl from an abalone, usually horn-shaped and intensely iridescent. One of the rarest pearls there is.
Mabe Pearl
A half-dome pearl grown against the inside of the shell rather than free in the tissue. Flat-backed, so it suits rings and pendants.
Mother of Pearl
The iridescent nacre lining of a mollusc shell. The same material as a pearl, but formed as a sheet rather than a bead.
Orient
The faint shifting rainbow that plays across the surface of a fine pearl, distinct from its lustre or its colour.