THE DRAGONFLY AND THE ISLETA DOUBLE BAR CROSS:

Also called the Pueblo Cross, the Isleta Cross is a very old Pueblo design associated with the Isleta Pueblo. This double bar cross goes back further than the times of when the Spaniards came into NM (1600's) & was said to originate with the Moors,but actually dates back to the Mimbres (C.1200 AD) where you can find this similar symbol in their pottery. Early Spanish priests,attributed the use of this cross to a miraculous encounter of the early Pueblos,with the Holy Spirit.

To the Puebloan natives, the double-bar cross was very similar to the dragonfly symbol of their culture, so many Puebloans incorporated the Isleta cross in their jewelry. Many crosses of Spanish and Mexican origin as well as Isleta crosses, you'll witness a heart or a partial heart at the bottom. This is sometime referred to as the “bleeding heart”. In the Catholic Church, the Sacred Heart (the bleeding heart) alludes to the manner of Jesus’ death and represents Christ’s goodness and charity through his wounds and ultimate sacrifice. However it has been told that the reason the Puebloans put a heart on the bottom of their crosses was for other reasons. They felt it represented the big generous heart of the dragonfly who loved the people. Dragonfly represents rain and its life-giving force, a source of renewal for the land, plants, animals and thus allows human life.

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THE NECKLACE:

Nothing says Santa Fe more than anything that's designed with the Pueblo Dragonfly cross & especially when they are interspersed with some gorgeous looking coral!!

The necklace is made with 6 LONG strands of premium Italian red coral that comes out of Sicily. The coral's color in this is very evenly saturated & is what I would call a blue/red color or a true red (As opposed to an orange red) & it's this color of red coral that we who love coral, tend to seek out.

There are 29 various style pueblo Dragonfly cross charms scattered through out,along with oxidized 8 mm sterling beads.

The finale is made with long hand made curved cones that has a 14 mm channel inlaid turquoise bead on one end of the cone & the hook & eye on the other.

***PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ***:

This Coral is from "Old Stock" since Coral is now on the rare list & can no longer be fished, nor brought in the USA.(These reasons are reflected in the price)Because of supply, buyers are buying what they can for these reasons, since everyday the price seems to go higher and higher... Coral has gotten so ridiculously expensive, which makes it unaffordable for many artists to even consider buying and especially for these premium grades. I know in fact many artists that are now hesitating whether to buy it or not since the price for a few carats doesn't go very far! In the last few years, Coral's cost has skyrocketed up to 500% & compared to a few years ago when it was at about $250 a gram, it is now over $1000 a gram & the less availability, the higher the price will increase.

Price is based on: Artist, coral quality, cost per carat, amount of carats, the availability, sterling cost & the artists time are all reflected in price