Spiny oyster is the brightest thing in our cases. It is shell, not stone — the thorny Spondylus that grows in the warm waters of the Gulf of California and along the Baja coast — and it comes in a range of colours no mineral in the Southwest can match: hot orange, deep red, dusky purple and occasionally a pale yellow.
Native American silversmiths have used Spondylus for well over a thousand years, long before silver reached the region, and it remains one of the classic partners for turquoise. The reason is simple colour theory: orange sits directly opposite blue, so spiny oyster against turquoise is the most vivid pairing available in the traditional palette. You will see it most often as inlay, as heishi and beads, and as the accent colour in cluster and channel work.
How to judge it: the colour should be strong and even, and on a cut cabochon you often see the shell’s natural layering as a subtle gradient from the darker outer surface toward a paler core — that is a good sign, not a flaw. Check for cracks along the growth lines, and on strands look for consistent colour bead to bead. Shell is softer than stone, so it wants the same care as coral: no ultrasonic cleaners, no harsh chemicals, and keep it off hard knocks.
This is one of our smallest collections — around 32 pieces, handmade with natural stones and shell in sterling silver — and it moves, so what is here changes.
Its closest relative in the case is red coral; it is also set constantly alongside opal and turquoise. Browse the full turquoise collection or read the Turquoise Guide. Family owned in Old Town Scottsdale since 1979. Free US shipping over $99.