Clement Paligaru: These elaborate necklaces may look like jewellery. But in Papua New Guinea and in Solomon Islands, this is a valuable currency - it's shell money and it's still being used today.

Lucy Lefea, shell money maker: We use it just like the dollars.

Theresa Ali, shell money maker: It's our traditional practice from before. Our parents used this for paying compensation when a problem happened between two families. It's still our custom so we are still using it now days.

Lucy Lefea: We use it for trading, like buying food, like packets of rice, sugar.

Theresa Ali: When a family got a feasting or a marriage, they go and buy a pig from other families with the shell money.

Lucy Lefea: And the main purpose of this shell money is for bride's gift. If you have a son you've got to prepare certain amounts of shell money to buy a wife for your son.

The one with the neck with the diamond - that is "mothers love". It's usually given to the mother of the girl as a token of thank you for all the hard work she's done with the girl, when she was born, until now - she's married.

Lucy Lefea: We've been using this ever since we were small and until now, I have grey hair. And I know it won't stop. This is a custom and it's very hard for us to go without it.

Without this, you are just nothing. You've got to have shell money at home so that you are somebody.