Vintage Unique Genuine Handmade Puka Shell & Cone Lei Necklace

Please read full description and see all pictures before submitting your offer. Today for your consideration we have a vintage, unique and well cared for genuine handmade puka shell necklace. Necklace measures 21" and weighs 167 grams. Pukas measure 10mm-15mm. Shells are concave with holes that are not uniformed. There is a silver barrel screw closure. Shells are on plastic wiring. Snail cone shell measure 30mm-40mm in height to 13mm-16mm width. The terminal helix of the shell of a cone snail is cone-shaped, and closed at the apex. When the empty shell is rolled over a long time by the waves in the breaking surf and coral rubble, the terminal helix of the shell breaks off or is gradually ground off, leaving the solid top of the shell intact. Given enough time, the tip of the spire of the shell usually also wears down, and thus a natural hole is formed from one side to the other. This shell fragment can be viewed as a sort of a natural bead, and is known in Hawaii as a "puka". Real puka shells are not flat: one side of the bead is slightly convex; the other is concave. The concave side of the bead clearly shows the spiral form of the interior of the spire of the cone shell.