No Mere Shell of a Man, Shopkeeper May Also Be King of the Curios

You can buy purses, lamps, wind chimes and floral displays. You can buy picture frames, clocks and turkeys. That’s right, turkeys.

You can also buy cats, ducks and owls, and tiny figurines that appear to be puffing cigars while brandishing pistols.

The pearl that each of these daffy curios has in common is that they’re composed entirely of seashells. That’s right, put your ear right up to the turkey’s mouth and listen to the roar of the ocean.

You might say that Pervez Sukhadwala, who moved to the United States from India two years ago, is waging the biggest shell game in San Diego County.

The soft-spoken Sukhadwala is hardly the sole seller of shells in San Diego. Shops such as La Jolla Cave & Shell Shop, Silver Sea of Old Town and Seaport Village Shell Co. Ltd. have sold seashells from the seashore for years. But, arguably, Sukhadwala’s newly opened Shell World International on Sports Arena Boulevard boasts the largest--and most bizarre--inventory.

Visitors are shellshocked by the number and strangeness of shells Sukhadwala has on his shelves.

“We have hundreds of thousands of shells,” Sukhadwala, 42, said as he stood surrounded by row upon row of shell after shell.

Carolyn Hashimoto, manager of La Jolla Cave & Shell Shop, said Sukhadwala appears to have the largest number of shells in the county (by a narrow margin) and certainly has the market cornered on the bizarre. In other words, it’s hard to find a shell smoking a cigar anywhere else in town.

Sukhadwala got into the shell business because his grandfather founded a wholesale outlet in India and wanted his grandsons to manage it. Sukhadwala discovered that, because the United States was by far his biggest export target, he could make a tidy retail profit here as well.

Like many sellers of shells, Sukhadwala harvests his 500 varieties from ocean floors all over the world. He sells the golden cowry and cyprae aurantiam from Filipino waters for as much as $6,000. He sells some shells for as little as 49 cents.

Hashimoto said Sukhadwala hardly has the market cornered on low or high prices. She said shell sales are booming and that her store, on Coast Boulevard in La Jolla, offers a voluta shell from the Irvinae family for as much as $1,200. An added bonus to Hashimoto’s store is the seven natural caves leading from a tunnel in the hillside 80 feet to the ocean below.

“People love shells for their natural beauty,” she said. “You can’t improve on Mother Nature. There’s a craze going on for minerals and crystals. It’s the same with shells.”

Sukhadwala said he’s counting on the “booming” collectors’ market. He said shells have become one of the world’s items for avid collectors, keeping fast company with stamps and coins.

“I love shells, and this shop definitely has the best selection in the county--even better than I’ve found in Hawaii,” said collector Dorothy Tucker, a retired art teacher from Point Loma who earlier this week was searching for as many shells as she could find to decorate a home already saturated with shells.

“What do I love about shells? I love the color, the form, the feel . . . the fact that they come from the sea. They have such an elegance about them. I used to buy them from sportfishermen off Point Loma, but, for some reason, they don’t sell them as much anymore. So I was thrilled when I heard about this place.”

Absolutely Natural

Zuby Sukhadwala, who helps her husband mind the store, said: “Our shells are absolutely natural. Each and every one is natural, in their color, everything. None are plastic or make-believe or fake. They’re not fake at all. The quality is just as good as anywhere. We give out good stuff. Everything in our store is natural--and the best.”

Sukhadwala buys from other wholesalers, who in turn buy from sportfishermen all over the globe. He said that, in some quarters, shells rival fish as the fishing industry’s biggest-selling items.

Sukhadwala opened his store in October. His Shell World International can also be found in Orlando and Kissimmee, Fla., and in Bombay, where shells are considered more an item for the affluent than adornments that just about anyone can afford.

Sukhadwala said most of the crazy “conversational” items--shells that resemble Billy the Kid, shells playing poker or drinking Budweiser--are crafted in India or the Philippines.

The popularity of the wacky items is greatest here, he said. They’re bigger sellers than even the locally grown abalone shells.

“People walk in, and they say, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen so many shells,’ ” Sukhadwala said. “It’s hard for them to believe that all of these come from nature, from the sea. The quantity alone makes people eager to come back.”

Indeed, so many shell seekers are showing up at the door that, who knows, maybe even celebrities will start popping in . . .

Shelley Winters?

Maximilian Schell?

Shel Silverstein?