THE HISTORY OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTY TURQUOISE USED IN THIS:

This turquoise is as natural as it gets & was mined back in the 1970's & comes from Reyes's Uncle "MARTINE LOVATO",(see listings) who has had it in his possession since the '70's! Passing it onto Farrell & Reyes for them to use,they then went & created this somewhat "Rare" turquoise necklace..Before you see turquoise in a cut/shaped stone,this is exactly how it looks when it came out of the ground & if you've never seen Sleeping Beauty in it's most natural/pure form,this is it! Sleeping Beauty turquoise is known for it's white matrix & you can see this throughout each nugget.Because of the white matrix,takes the blue vibrancy that it's known for,down a bit & gives it a pastel blue sort of look..

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THE NECKLACE:

The nuggets are spaced between colorful Abalone heishi that Farrell cuts himself & started from the whole shell & cut it down to size,so he could then work with the shell to then hand cut them into heishi beads.(From what I was told,Abalone isn't the easiest to cut!) You see all the colors known to the shell,with shimmery vibrant greens,pinks,periwinkles & by using this particular shell,seems to give it a colorful "pop" when the light comes into play!Toward the mosaic barrel where the nuggets stop,are Olive shell hesihi beads that lead to the mosaic.

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THE MOSAIC INLAY BARREL: 

In a 1-1/8" tall x 14 mm round display,is the Pacheco's signature "Barrel" design that is known to only them & her uncle Martine..So even though this necklace is very traditional in design & has been being made practically since the beginning of Pueblo jewelry,it's this Barrel that will let you know this is made by them!

Reyes is the the Mosaic artist & is mosaic inlaid with Sleeping Beauty turquoise in it's entirety.The mosaic is sandwiched between orange Spiny Oyster shell & is so well made,that you don't feel or see a line of demarcation! 5 Strands of Mediterranean Coral fringe finish off it's 4" long design drop.

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CLOSURE:
Made with hand braided wax string,you can tie this where ever you like to extend the length or shorten it.