However, the most popular choice of jewelry among teenage boys in the islands is the spondylus necklace. It is handcrafted from the spondylus shell, also known as thorny oysters or spiny oysters.
The necklaces are locally sold for hundreds of dollars. The price varies from how much labor is put into the making of the necklace.
Spondylus crafter Cynthia Cepeda of Kagman II says it takes about five to six months to gather the shells needed for one necklace. Cepeda works with her husband, Ben.
“It’s rare to find a whole shell, though. Fragments of the shell are much more common to find but even fragments are a pain in the neck to collect because they are not indigenous to our shores,” Cepeda said in an interview with Variety.
The pendant of the necklace is the hardest to find, Cepeda says. So far Cepeda and her husband have made over eight necklaces out of spondylus. Not all have the shell as a pendant.
David Cepeda, 16 of Kagman High School, said the necklace represents the islander in him.
His brother, Vincent, 17, said it also represents the Chamorro culture’s love of nature. “Nothing is better than natural,” he said.
