Sterling Silver Earrings - Baby Paua

Solid recycled Sterling Silver earrings cast from an actual Paua (Abalone) shell.  The curves and intricate detail of this iconic New Zealand shell are beautifully captured in this handcrafted design.

Note: no cute little baby pauas were harmed in the making of these earrings, they are cast from a mould taken from a shell found on the beach!

Baby Paua: Paua size 14mm (0.55in), Hook 15mm (0.6in)

While they’re are known as ‘abalone’ in other countries, larger pāua can mostly be found in the fresh, cold seas of the lower North Island, South Island, Chatham Island and Stewart Island. They are caught by free-diving.

To make pāua babies, the male and female pāua wait until the perfect time (they just know) and then, together, eject millions of eggs or sperm into the water at the same time through those holes you see in their shells.  It then mingles, becomes pāua lavae, and some will one day head down to start life as a rock dwelling adult pāua.

New Zealand’s pāua industry is managed by strict quotas, which will only allow a certain amount of them to be harvested each year, with severe penalties for those who break the law. This makes for a sustainable fishery.