Loggerhead turtle rescue inspires new pendant.

Silver Turtle Pendant

Aquamarines latest piece of jewellery has been inspired by the time that owner Rose and artist Nicolas Pain helped to rescue a rare loggerhead turtle.


They discovered the six-inch (15cm) juvenile on Loe Bar, near Porthleven, during a day off from a Cornish diving trip. It was surrounded by a number of stranded Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish - one of the loggerhead's staple foods.



Matt with Squirt



The turtle was then taken in by a special quarantine unit at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay. Blue Reef curator Matt Slater has been looking after the turtle since it stranded last year. "It's extremely fortunate Rose rescued him when she did because loggerheads simply would not be able to survive for any length of time in British waters," Matt said, "They are prone to hypothermia and are vulnerable to getting caught in fishing nets and other marine flotsam and jetsam."

The turtle, nicknamed squirt, was released back into the atlantic ocean in March at Melenara Beach Gran Canaria, along with a second rescued turtle named Steve.

“When they first came in it really was touch and go whether they would survive but to see them both in prime condition powering their way out to sea was incredibly emotional,” he said.
“I was able to swim alongside both of them for a short while after they had been released and it was a truly amazing experience.

Squirt swims off to freedom.

“Both Steve and Squirt were in great physical condition and were soon able to power away from me even though it looked like they were expending no effort while I was finning away like crazy just to keep up!”


Nick and I are so pleased to see Squirt return to the ocean.  Many thanks to Matt and the team at the Blue Reef Aquarium.  There is a great film of them being released on you tube, and it even made the local bbc news.  If you would like to see more details of the silver turtle pendant it is available now available on the Aquamarine website.Thanks for reading!!!