Some of the most beautiful kinds of jewelry are the various forms of abalone jewelry you can find that when compared with prices of gold and diamond jewelry and the like, can practically be bought for a song. Abalone jewelry made with real rare abalone pearls may not be found at such bargain rates, but for aesthetic value, it is hard to beat them even at slightly above average prices.
Abalone jewelry is also one of the oldest forms of jewelry, as the material itself (and the animal it is derived from) predate man's existence. It was always possible for us to make abalone jewelry once we got a-hold of the shells, whereas the smything of gold and the refinement of diamonds came many thousands of years later. Abalone jewelry is way old school.