Stunning and Sentimental Hawaiian Jewelry Designs
Whether you grew up splashing on the shores of Honolulu or have always considered Maui a dream vacation destination, odds are you've seen the beautiful jewelry Hawaii is known for. From traditional Maui fish hook pendants to shell necklaces and more. Let's get an inside glimpse at the spiritual symbolism and mythical meanings behind the most popular Hawaiian jewelry designs.
The Fascinating History of Hawaiian Jewelry
Hawaiian-style jewelry isn't a new phenomenon—in fact, it's been around since at least the 19th century. From island royalty, Queen Lili'uokalani, wearing a cherished gold-engraved bracelet to commemorate her friendship with Queen Victoria, to other native Hawaiians gifting shark-tooth jewelry to their fathers, brothers, and sons who ventured out to sea, jewelry has been an essential part of Hawaiian culture. In fact, it still is!
Who Can Wear Hawaiian Jewelry?
With sentimental symbolism and countless styles, Hawaiian jewelry makes a thoughtful accessory for just about anyone, from the surfer in the family to your ocean-loving in-laws. Whether you're looking for a kind and caring gift for someone special or searching for a unique addition to your jewelry box, there's a Hawaii-inspired design perfect for you.
5 Categories of Hawaiian Jewelry
When you're searching for the perfect souvenir design to take home, remember that there are styles in these five categories to choose from:
- Pendants
- Beaded necklaces
- Bracelets
- Earrings
- Rings
Finding Symbolism in Stylish Hawaiian Jewelry
Hawaiian jewelry is more than just a way to show off your style—each design has a special meaning and history behind it. Discover the intricate symbolism behind each of these popular designs:
Sport Meaningful Maui's Fish Hook Jewelry
From “Moana” to resort gift shops, one of the most recognizable symbols found in Hawaiian jewelry is the Maui hook. The significance of the hook jewelry comes from the mythical story behind it. According to Polynesian lore, the demi-god Maui helped create the islands we now know as Hawaii on a fishing trip with his siblings by dragging the land up from the ocean floor with his fish hook.
The Maui hook is most often worn around the neck on a necklace, with a hook pendant made from locally sourced materials such as bone, horn, crystal, or Koa wood. Legend says that wearing the hook of Maui is meant to bring its wearer good luck, strength, and safety around water, making it the perfect accessory for any world traveler, swimmer, or surfer.
Show Off Lālani Black Coral Jewelry
If you want to wear something that forever connects to the wonderous depths of our oceans, look no further than our exclusive line of Lālani Black Coral Jewelry. Each piece of black coral, the state gem of Hawaii, is harvested locally by our specialized team of divers from the Au’au channel and combined with lapis lazuli, sterling silver, spiny oyster, and turquoise to create a one-of-a-kind cut for each design.
Our composite jewelry designs enable us to use every part of the gathered black coral tree, so nothing is wasted, whether we’re making our black coral hoop earrings or a pendant. The unique mix of color from our composite is reminiscent of the line’s name, Lālani, a Hawaiian phrase that translates to “reflection of the Milky Way.”
Make a Statement with Stylish Shark Tooth Jewelry
Even though sharks are often thought of as intimidating or even frightening, wearing their teeth is almost a right of passage in Hawaiian style. According to old Hawaii wives’ tales, a young warrior once battled a terrifying sea god. When he won the battle, he emerged wearing a shark tooth necklace, forever solidifying its reputation as one of power, masculinity, and protection.
Their chompers come in many shapes and sizes, and with a wide variety of fresh to fossilized shark tooth jewelry pendants to choose from, anyone can make a statement with shark teeth. If you're looking for a spiritual talisman to guard you in your day-to-day lives or are interested in a traditionally "manly" form of jewelry, shark tooth jewelry is made for you.
What's the Best Shark Tooth for Hawaiian Jewelry?
If you were to hunt for shark teeth on the ocean shores of Hawaii, you could find anything from a few misshapen fragments to fully intact megalodon teeth. When it comes to the professionals, most jewelry makers prefer to use shark teeth that are whole triangles, regardless of breed. When it comes to Hawaiian jewelry, they can feature a wide variety of teeth from the native shark species that wash up throughout the year, from megalodon teeth fossils to tiger shark teeth and more.
Protect Your Energy with Healing Crystal Jewelry
One of the most popular choices for jewelry bought in Hawaii features a variety of healing gemstones. While not all of these are collected or cut on the islands, they do make for a popular and meaningful style for many who live in and visit Hawaii.
With so many stones to choose from, each with their own spiritual meaning, powerful healing crystals like Baltic amber are a beautiful choice for pendants, earrings, rings, and more. The best part? You can hand choose which healing crystal jewelry to wear based on whatever spiritual or emotional benefits you want to invite into your life.
5 Popular Healing Crystals and Their Meanings
Look into a few of the most-worn healing crystals to find one that works for you:
- Rose quartz: known for healing and supporting unconditional love of self and others
- Jasper: known for nurturing and supporting the wearer through stressful times
- Labradorite: known to help the wearer balance their aura and promote growth of all kinds
- Lapis Lazuli: known for courage, intellect, truth, and warding off true evil
- Baltic amber: known for its anti-inflammatory effects and cleansing properties for the mind, body, and soul
Support Local Artists with Handmade Hawaiian Jewelry
There’s no better way of showing your love for Hawaii than directly supporting the artists who live on the land. Plenty of our Made in Hawaii pieces depict the beauty of the islands with authentic island materials and cultural inspirations. Whether you’re searching for a hand-carved Koa wood whale tail necklace or other Hawaiian jewelry by Maui artisan David Haake or Hawaii-inspired sterling silver earrings of Pele’s Tears by Cici Designs, each stylish piece will help you carry the spirit of aloha with you wherever you go.
Everyone deserves a jewelry box filled with pieces that hold meaning—and Hawaiian jewelry makes that possible. Whether you're looking for a long-lasting souvenir from your most recent vacation or want to hold a piece of Hawaii close to your heart, we have the perfect symbolic accessory waiting for you at Whaler's Locker.