ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Born, raised & presently residing on the Navajo reservation in the town of To’hajiilee,(Toe-hah-jah-lee) NM, Navajo artisan Dakota Willie was born to make jewelry. He breath's a freshness to Navajo Jewelry that's every bit traditional, but yet having a very artistic contemporary edginess. Dakota learned like many Navajo children learn & whether it's the parents, the uncles, aunts or grandparents, in Dakota's case it was his father Ronnie Willie (See my listings) & his mother who took Dakota under their wing when he was only 8 years old & has now been making jewelry for 23 years. I've always been a believer that you can teach someone all you can, only to find they either have it or they don't..And Dakota is an artist that definitely has it & it's his calling that has taken him up the ladder a few notches to where he is today! I know Ronnie has to be a proud father of the impeccable artist Dakota has become..He has taken off into being a wonderful artist himself, whose work is super clean, polished & refined & when you have this this cuff in hand, you'll find it's an excellent example of what I'm referring to.

Dakota is an all around "Artist" & not just in jewelry design, but he also spends his time as a clothing fashion designer, he loves to paint & loves doing anything that's artistic & creative..
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THE CUFF:
Made with time consuming techniques, this reaps "Contemporary Navajo" inside & out! Why this cuff stands out is not only based on it's sophisticated & very classy look that it has, but it's how Dakota beautifully paired 2 textures together & then gave those gorgeous textures their 'light/dark' appeal for contrast! Placing the mirrored finished sterling against this dark textured base only brings them to life with each other, while they are in perfect balance with the other!

Made in a statement size 2-5/8" width, Dakota took the heavy gauge sterling & created all the texture that you see in the oxidized base, by hand. It has almost a "Tufa" like texture & it's this oxidized texture that it has, that makes the high polished edges & all those high polished little 8 mm squares come to life!

The huge Labradorite stone is something you don't always see in Native jewelry & actually adds to it's overall contemporary beauty. The Labradorite displays the "Labradorescence" colors known to this stone & while the overall color is grey, but with movement, it shows blues,greens,yellows & oranges. Having this overall grey color, I can't help but think that this was probably one of the best stone choices to pair with the contrasting colors of the silver metal!

Lastly, this is an incredibly made cuff that's "one of a kind & artisan made" & can only be found here at Plata de Santa Fe Jewelry. It will stand out no matter where you live & can pair with either a traditional or contemporary style Native collection! Imagine wearing this with any grey or black wardrobe! (But definitely not limited to!! )

This cuff is heavy (OVER 6 Ounces!) and so it's durable & solid! This isn't a flimsy, cheap feeling cuff that can get bent out of shape in a second, but made well! It's made for a larger wrist size (6-3/4") & because of it's 1-3/8" gap opening, this will accommodate a little more 'fleshy' wrist that needs a wider gap. Cuff's are one bracelet that have to fit properly,so it's extremely important they fit you right! If you're not sure of what wrist size you have,I suggest you click on How To Fit A Cuff all the way to the bottom, as well as copy/pasting this You Tube video,(below) which also gives some valuable info!

https://youtu.be/bU6QwykAo7w