A PERSONAL WORD ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Kewa Puebloan artist Warren Nieto is a true favorite of the public and consistently ranks high at the very top of my personal list for many meaningful reasons. Not only do I consider him a genuine friend whom I deeply admire and trust, but everything Warren creates emanates directly from his rich Ancestral Puebloan roots. These traditions have been carefully and respectfully passed down from generation to generation through a profound ‘oral’ history that stretches back as far as the mid-9th to early 13th centuries, when Warren’s ancestors lived in the historic Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Bonito, and Mesa Verde regions of America, long before the arrival of any settlers. An extremely proud Pueblo man and equally devoted family man, Warren consistently draws his inspiration from a 'higher power' and his 'spiritual guides,' who grant him the 'eye' to allow his hands to bring forth all the stunning jewelry he so masterfully creates. What you’ll receive from Warren are like beautifully painted Puebloan stories, artfully expressed through the thoughtful combination of many vibrant stones and delicate shells.

THE NECKLACE:

When the idea of recreating some of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan and pre-historic Hohokam jewelry first came to mind, there was truly no other artist I could trust to bring this vision to life with authenticity and care, than Warren. He immediately understood exactly what I was referring to and shared in the excitement about the project. Knowing that he was on board to create these pieces meant everything to me, and I was confident the work would be done with the utmost respect and skill, along with his historical knowledge to back it..

This necklace, along with other jewelry pieces to be listed, are proudly labeled the “Ancestral Puebloan Series” where he will walk us back through time with designs reminiscent of jewelry that was made centuries ago.

One of the very first things you will notice, and definitely cannot be denied, is the overwhelming outpouring of genuine love and meticulous time he dedicated to making each piece with care and respect for its history. I have to admit, this is truly the best Pueblo charm necklace you will ever come across, and it is so outrageously gorgeous that even Warren and I both felt tempted to keep it for ourselves!

This is entirely made by hand, where Warren cut 5 strands of Melon Shell heishi that is completely used as an anchor for the approximate 39 charms. There are dangling mosaic inlaid charms, entire shells, tabs of turquoise & spiny oyster, fully sculpted hands of apple coral, hand rounded beads, etc... The hands play a dominant role to the design & is one of the most well-known symbols.. They symbolize so much, but for a few things that they represent are: Healing and protection, connections and relationships & was believed to transfer energy to the individual that the symbol was placed on.

The non-removable Nacozari Sonoran Turquoise pendant is designed in a 3 tier drop, where it starts with the fully mosaic inlaid bale that is then wired to the large fully mosaic inlaid 2-3/8” Pectin Scallop shell, that again, where you’ll see the “Hand” in the design that freely dangles in the center. The Spiny Oyster hand then is designed with a spot of turquoise that sits atop. On the 3rd tier, a trapezoidal shaped cut of Spiny Oyster finalizes the pendant. If you zoom in especially to photo 21, you will see that the dangling hand & the Spiny Oyster drop are actually connected by way of string. This was the way the Pueblo people would connect things, which was long before artists started using metal jump rings!

Warren kept anything ‘modern’ to a bare minimum, since he wanted this to stay as close to the Ancient Ancestral Puebloan style as possible..For example, instead of using modern day sterling cones for the closure, he came up with this brilliant idea of creating his own fully mosaic inlaid cones that stay authentic with the ancestral timeline.. Twisted waxy string at the closure can be tied as close to the cones to make it as short as possible, but the strings are long enough to tie where you like in order to wear it longer!

THE EARRINGS:

The earrings are an added bonus,but are a bit more modern than the necklace. They are traditionally made & are made of Kingman turquoise & Spiny Oyster & are mosaic inlaid atop of black jet. They are very wearable in weight!(See weights below)

Be sure to check out Warren’s Ancestral Puebloan earrings & more necklaces, including "HOHOKAM" inspired necklaces!! (A ultra gorgeous 5 strand Charm Necklace from the series can be found under “Necklaces”, whereas all the others are under this same “Necklace 2” category! Earrings are under the “Earrings 3” category!

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ANCESTRAL PUEBLO SERIES NECKLACE:

ARTIST: WARREN NIETO - MADE EXCLUSIVELY FOR PLATA de SANTA FE JEWELRY

TRIBAL AFFILIATION: KEWA VILLAGE-(SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO)

WEARABLE LENGTH: 21-1/4” (MEASURED LAYING HORIZONTALLY-THIS IS WITHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE PENDANT AND FROM CONE TO CONE

FROM STRING END TO STRING END: 39”

WEIGHT: 228 GRAMS (8.1 OUNCES)

PENDANT MEASUREMENT: BALE TO BOTTOM: 4-5/8” X 2-3/8”

PECTIN SCALLOP SHELL ALONE: 2-3/8” X 2-3/8”

TURQUOISE MOSAIC IN PENDANT: NACOZARI SONORAN TURQUOISE

HEISHI: MELON SHELL

HEISHI BEAD SIZE: 4 MM ROUND

STRAND AMOUNT: 5

METAL: STERLING WIRE WITHIN DESIGN

HALLMARK: “WN” WITH “KIVA STEPS” ON BACK OF PENDANT (SEE PHOTOS)

COMES GIFT BOXED (AS SET)

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EARRINGS:

MATERIAL: KINGMAN TURQUOISE-SPINY OYSTER- BLACK JET (BACKING)

COMBINED WEIGHT: 12.4 GRAMS

MEASUREMENTS: 2-1/8” X 1” (FROM EAR WIRE CURVATURE TO BOTTOM)

MOSAIC ALONE:(WITHOUT EAR WIRE) 1-3/8” X 1”

EAR CONNECTION: EAR WIRES

METAL: STERLING EAR WIRES

HALLMARK: ON BACK OF EARRINGS (SEE PHOTOS)

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:

Anything with a high price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement & will come insured (reflected in shipping price).. If you're not home in the day & need this shipped where it can be signed for,please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label***I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine

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PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:
I do not consider myself a 'professional photographer" but I do try my hardest to give you photos that are 'realistic" in color. Please realize that all monitors are different, so the materials can look more vivid (or duller) from one computer to the next.

To give you close up photos,pictures tend to make the item look much more larger & everything is more magnified than in actuality. Close up's make the item look so large & then you get it in hand & you are shocked since the item is much smaller than how they looked in the photos..So to get an accurate idea of how big this set is, please either check it out being worn to get a rough idea (see photos) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements above.