Material: Sterling Silver (hook & eye), Onyx, Turquoise, Jet, Apple Coral, Lapis, Sugilite, Abalone, Yellow Mother of Pearl
Dimensions: 28" long. Pendant is 1-1/8" x 4-3/4". Largest onyx bead is 1/2" wide.
Weight (in grams): 38.1
Hallmark/Signature: CTN, SDP
The Santo Domingo Pueblo tribe (Kewa) is known for their bead-making skills. Heishi (hee-shee) is a term referring to round hand-made beads, usually as necklaces, created from any natural materials such as turquoise, coral, abalone, serpentine, lapis, black jet, etc.
The process of making handmade heishi beads is painstaking, as the natural stone is cut into small square slabs and a hole is drilled in each one. Then the slabs are strung on a wire and meticulously ground and polished into smooth round beads.
Depending on the raw material used, it can take from two days to two weeks to hand-produce one single string of heishi beads.
