Hawaiian Flower Leis

Hawaiian Flower Leis

　　The pink, black, and golden corals sourced from Hawaiian waters are cut, polished, and then sent to jewelry shops. On Duke Street in Waikiki, between Kalakaua Avenue and Kuhio Avenue, a multitude of shops—big and small—are packed with a wide variety of jewelry. The Maui Diving Company in downtown Honolulu offers free shuttle service to various hotels to make it convenient for tourists to visit their factory. The tour is free of charge. The final stop is a large showroom—or perhaps more accurately, a large shop—which is undoubtedly a clever business move.

　　　　　　Surprisingly, not all shells are as common as those found on Hawaiian beaches. Shells are often used to make flower leis. And the flower leis that aren’t strung with actual flowers come from Niihau Island, known as the “Forbidden Isle.” These leis are made from thousands of tiny shells and can be worth thousands of dollars. A wide variety of shells and shell decorations can be found at the Island Shell Shop in Ala Moana Center.