Anne Dale introduces the new Louisiana State Gemstone LaPearlite® with WWL Channel 4 News Morning Show host Sally-Ann Roberts.

Louisiana may now profit from a new and first time application for shells of the Crassostrea virginica oyster, one of dozens of mollusk varieties, which has replaced the agate as the new state gemstone and the state’s first ever official mineral.

Gemologist Anne Dale of Mandeville has cut the specific species of oyster shell, common off the shore of Louisiana, as cabochon gem and used it in making jewelry for the first time ever.

 

 

“It was last year after the oil spill,” Dale said of when the idea hit her. “I went and bought a lot of seafood, oysters especially. I was shucking them in the backyard and the sun hit the shell. I kept thinking, ‘I don’t know why no one has ever cut a gemstone from this shell.’ So I did it. It was an inspirational moment. I thought, ‘It is so pretty.’”

 New Orleans Jeweler Anne Dale’s latest creation using Louisiana oysters embodies the resilient spirit of our coastal fishing communities, helping to shine a spotlight on one of our greatest natural resources…our beloved oysters.  Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board director Ewell Smith

Anne mines the stones out of Louisiana oysters and in 2011 Governor Bobby Jindal named it the official Louisiana State Gemstone.