Even the French house Boucheron embellished a brown and white marbled seashell, conus marmoreus, with 286 diamonds totaling 6.54 carats for a brooch in its Carte Blanche high jewelry collection, a 26-piece set called Ailleurs, unveiled in Paris in July 2022. “It is the goal of high jewelry to arouse emotion and poetry, and it is our duty to question what is considered precious,” the house’s creative director, Claire Choisne, wrote in an email. These designers are actually bringing shells back to their roots: For most of history, shells were highly valued, and even used as currency. Cowrie shells, for instance, were used as currency in West Africa as early as the 14th century, and later, they were used for trading among African, Asian and European nations. For centuries, Native Americans shaped clam and conch shells into beads, some of which were added to ceremonial garments and accessories, while others were used as a currency known as wampum.

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