Whale tail jewelry: meaning, styles and what to look for

Whale tail jewelry shows the raised tail, or fluke, of the koholā, the humpback whale, which travels to Hawaiian waters each winter to breed and raise its calves. It is usually worn for strength, protection, safe travel and love of the ocean. In Hawaiian tradition, as NOAA’s sanctuary program and Hawaiian practitioners describe it, the koholā is honoured as a kinolau (physical form) of Kanaloa, god of the ocean. We do not make whale tail jewelry, but this page explains the motif and what to check if you are buying a piece.

The koholā in Hawaiʻi

Humpback whales of the North Pacific spend summer feeding in colder waters, many of them off Alaska, and swim thousands of miles to Hawaiʻi for the winter. They are in Hawaiian waters roughly from November to May, with the most whales from about January to March. The shallow, warm channels between Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe are among their favourite places, and much of that area is protected as the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

When a humpback dives, it often lifts its tail clear of the water. The underside of every tail has its own pattern of black and white and its own trailing edge, so researchers use photographs of tails to identify individual whales, the way a fingerprint identifies a person. That moment, the tail rising before a dive, is the shape most whale tail jewelry captures.

What the whale tail means

According to NOAA’s sanctuary materials, which draw on Native Hawaiian educators, koholā are acknowledged as ancient beings and as a kinolau of Kanaloa, which is why some practitioners call them Kanaloa. Some ʻohana (families) honour koholā as ʻaumākua, ancestral guardians, and some stories credit whales with guiding the voyaging ancestors across the Pacific. Their return each winter also marks the change of season.

Beyond those traditions, people give whale tail jewelry for strength and endurance, for protection when travelling, and as a sign of family, since humpback mothers stay close to their calves. These are modern associations rather than old Hawaiian meanings, and they are lovely ones.

Common styles

• Cut-out pendants. A tail rising from the water, sometimes with a curl of wave beneath it. This is the most common piece.
• Carved pendants. Tails carved from bone, wood or shell and hung on a cord.
• Inlaid tails. Gold or silver tails with mother-of-pearl, abalone or koa set into the flukes.
• Rings, earrings and charms. Small tails on a band, as studs or drops, or as bracelet charms.

Whale tails are made in both sterling silver (925) and gold, usually 14k.

What to look for when buying

No whale bone or teeth. Federal law restricts the sale of marine mammal parts, and Hawaiʻi’s 2016 wildlife trade law, Act 125, bans the sale of whale parts and products, apart from narrow exceptions. A carved tail should be cattle bone, wood, shell, resin or metal, and the seller should tell you which.

Sturdy tips. The pointed tips of the flukes are the thinnest part of the piece and the first to bend or wear. Look for metal with some thickness at the tips.

Solid or hollow, and weight. Ask whether a metal piece is solid and what it weighs in grams. Hollow tails dent easily.

Hand or machine work. Hand-finished and hand-engraved tails have crisp lines and small differences between pieces; cast pieces repeat exactly and have softer edges.

Karat stamps. Look for 14K or 585, 10K or 417, 18K or 750, or 925 for sterling. GP, GF, HGE and RGP mean plated or gold filled.

Made in Hawaiʻi or imported. Under Hawaiʻi law, “made in Hawaii” requires at least 51 percent of the wholesale value to be added in the state. Many whale tail pieces sold in the islands are made elsewhere, so ask.

For how metal, weight and handwork affect cost, see our guide to Hawaiian jewelry prices.

Care

Wash metal pieces in warm water with a little mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush, then rinse and dry. Polish sterling with a silver cloth. Keep carved bone and wood dry and away from lotion and sunscreen, which they soak up. Pieces with shell or koa inlay should not go in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Why we do not make it

We do not make whale tail jewelry. Our designs come from the heirloom tradition: scroll, plumeria, maile, naupaka and honu. If you want an ocean piece from us, the honu is the closest, on our pendants, rings and bracelets. Our guide to Hawaiian jewelry symbols and meanings compares them all.