SALE FOR NECKLACE ONLY-LEONARD NEZ PENDANT CAN BE FOUND UNDER ‘WOMENS JEWELRY/PENDANTS’

ABOUT AUTHENTIC NAVAJO PEARLS:

On today's market there are oxidized sterling beaded necklaces that people call “Navajo Pearls” & are nothing but a machine made oxidized sterling bead & then there are ones that are made entirely by the hands of Navajo silversmiths.These are the latter & what would be called "AUTHENTIC" Navajo Pearl Bench Bead "Pearls".. "Real" Navajo Pearls is an EXTREMELY labor intensive lengthy process & are much more valuable because of the time that goes into making them & are 'artisan made' rather than by machine..Real Navajo Pearl's will always have a higher price tag, based on the 'Hand Made' factor & in this business,you pay for what you get!

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ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Navajo artist Jaden Chischille is the 23 year old granddaughter of Navajo award winning artist Leonard Nez.(See listings) She is actually a law student by day & does these in her spare time when she's not attending school.Jaden was taught by her mother Betty Lynn Nez who unfortunately passed away recently.Betty was a pro at making these time consuming beads & taught Jaden all she knew, so Jaden can then make them in the precise way Betty did.She lives in the town of TóHajiilee,NM (Cañoncito Band of Navajos) which is just west of ABQ. on the Navajo reservation.

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DESCRIPTION:

Jaden makes these fluted style beads one by one, by cutting the sterling in the desired size,where she then uses a "dap" to curve the sterling into a dome with special dies and punches.. She then drills each hole,solders the 2 half's together, hand finishes them & then buffs the seams of each one down so you don't see a line of demarcation where the two~1/2 beads meet! I couldn't imagine how long it takes to make a necklace this length & with this size bead! (And there are too many to count!)

This is made in a versatile 43" long-6.5 mm bead necklace that you can either wear as is,or you can double it! Another great thing about this size bead is for the fact that even when they're doubled, they're still small enough to fit though a medium size bale for a pendant! (See last photo with Leonard's pendant-see listings)

They are beautifully oxidized ,which helps to accentuate the fluted design.It looks like they are strung on sterling chain,which helps them to fold up easily. At the moment,Jaden's beads don't come with a hallmark & I was told by Leonard that they are working on getting her a hallmark stamp.

FYI:

**All Navajo Pearl beads are hollow,with some being light in weight,while others are heavy. The weight of a Navajo Pearl necklace is determined by the gauge of sterling that the artist chose to work with & then of course how big the bead is & the length (More beads)**

Support Native American Art! ~~ "New Mexico True!"