In yesterday’s post, I promised that today I would have a complement to the piece featured in it. Actually, I have two — both made by the same artists, both simple and simply beautiful.
These are known as “coil bracelets,” for what should be obvious reasons: They’re made of gemstone beads strung onto a length of sterling silver wire that has been coiled into a spiral; the tension in the metal strand holds the shape. It’s an old way of making Indian jewelry, one that’s beautiful in its simplicity; occasionally, you can find chokers made the same way.
Like yesterday’s coin-disc bead necklace made of apple coral, these are made by Clarita and Vera Tenorio of Kewa Pueblo (what most people still call Santo Domingo Pueblo; five years or so ago, the people voted to revert formally to their own name for themselves). Clarita and Vera are a mother-and-daughter team of expert Pueblo jewelers whose medium is beads: beads of all shapes and sizes, in a dizzying array of gemstones and materials, some carved into fetish animals, some cut and cabbed, and some, as here, in nugget-style chips, lightly polished but still largely free-form in shape.
These are the only two we have remaining in inventory at the moment, and they’re beautiful. Each contains more than 200 individual turquoise nuggets, and each terminates at either end in a bright orange-red bead paired with a single round sterling silver bead. The turquoise appears to be a combination of Kingman and Royston nuggets, although it could be either/or. If I had to choose, my money would be on Royston, simply for the amount of bold red and brown matrix colors.
From the description of the bracelet shown above, as found in our Other Artists: Miscellaneous Jewelry gallery:
This coiled bracelet is one of the trademark traditional styles of mother/daughter team of Clarita and Vera Tenorio (Kewa Pueblo). After choosing more than 200 chip-style turquoise nuggets in varying shades of blue and green, lightly polished and drilled in the centers, they string them on a spiraled length of sterling silver wire; the wire’s own tension forms the coil. Each end terminates in a single piece of bright coral paired with a tiny round sterling silver bead.
Turquoise; spiny oyster shell; sterling silver
$95 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Although it’s not clear from the photo above, there’s also an anomaly in one of the beads: On the end at the bottom of the bracelet as pictured (look at the orange nugget on the right-hand side), three beads up, the turquoise nugget is half-clear. It contains an inclusion of unusually transparent quartz, embedded in the stone itself. You will only see it if you look closely, but it creates a stunning effect, allowing you to see, in microcosm, what matrix inclusions look like up close.
The one above is made, as nearly as I can tell via the naked eye, with spiny oyster shell beads at either end. My assessment is based on the matrices in each bead: Unlike the two in the bracelet shown below, it doesn’t have the porous look you’d expect to find in coral; what it does have are striated lines of the sort common to spiny oyster shell. We’ve introduced you to this shell before; it’s long been common in Southwestern Indian jewelry, but its use is now increasing. Why? Because, as we explored yesterday, coral is increasingly scarce (and expensive), and spiny oyster shell often provides similar colors, but it remains accessible. In fact, spiny oyster is more versatile yet, at least in terms of color: It manifests in a range of shades across a very broad spectrum, from near-pure white to ivory and beige; throughout the ranges of pale peach to orange, and brick red to flaming shades the colors of coral and blood; from palest lilac to plummy violet hues; and even olivine shades of green.
The other bracelet, though? It terminates in coral. This is not the apple coral featured yesterday; these are tiny chips of actual blood-red branch coral, which means that they are by now no doubt very old. An examination with the naked eye shows clearly the porous surfce of the once-living organism. From its description:
Some 200 subtly-shaped free-form nuggets of blue and green turquoise are lightly polished, drilled, and and strung on a tense length of spiraled silver wire. Each end of the strand is capped by a single piece of drilled coral and a tiny sterling silver round bead. The flexible coil style fits nearly any wrist. By Clarita and Vera Tenorio (Kewa Pueblo).
Turquoise; coral; sterling silver
$95 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It makes for a beautifully complementary accent to this serpentine strand of greens and blues. I have one of these, one Wings gave me many years ago, but mine is the reverse of this style: It’s made of lightly-polished tube beads of natural blood-red branch coral, with the accents in green turquoise. [And, no, you can’t have it. It’s not for sale.] Mine was made back when it was still a bit easier to acquire substantial amounts of branch coral, and I think it might have been the last such one they ever made for us.
I love this particular style for its simplicity and its versatility. The stretchiness of the coils means they fit nearly any size wrist. They can also be worn over sleeves, solving the problem of jewelry that doesn’t show beneath bulky winter sweaters — and then snap back into their natural shape to fit the bare wrist.
They also recall the fun of childhood, both “jewelry” and toys alike — playful and precious simultaneously. Think about it for a moment: What do you see?
It’s a Slinky — one studded with Skystones.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
