Lapis, Turquoise, and Heishi Necklace Santo Domingo

Our Lapis, Turquoise and Heishi Santo Domingo Necklace tells its story through color, the luminous blue-green of turquoise meeting the deep, midnight blue of lapis. Commissioned especially for us and handmade by a female Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo artisan, the necklace is composed of multiple strands of beautifully shaped heishi beads. Rather than creating a rigid pattern, the artisan allows the lapis to move unexpectedly through the turquoise, giving the necklace an organic rhythm that feels both ancient and remarkably contemporary.

Turquoise has been treasured throughout the Southwest for generations, admired for colors that can range from pale sky blue to saturated blue-green and for the natural matrix that makes each stone individual. Lapis brings an entirely different character. Prized since antiquity for its intense ultramarine and cobalt tones, lapis has traveled along trade routes for thousands of years. Against turquoise, its darker blue creates extraordinary depth, almost like looking from a sunlit Southwestern sky into the blue of evening.

That interplay of color is shaped through the celebrated heishi tradition of Santo Domingo Pueblo, also known as Kewa Pueblo. Kewa artists are renowned for transforming stone and shell into remarkably precise beads through a labor-intensive process of cutting, drilling, grinding, shaping, and polishing. Each small bead passes through the artisan’s hands before the strands are assembled, and the beauty comes from achieving harmony without removing the natural personality of the materials.

For Jean Marie, commissioning these necklaces is as much about relationships as it is about jewelry. She works closely with the artisan, sharing ideas about colors, stones, proportions, and combinations while giving her the freedom to bring generations of knowledge to the finished piece. This necklace grew from that collaboration. The flashes of deep lapis among the turquoise make it especially memorable, a piece created through friendship, conversation, Kewa craftsmanship, and Jean Marie’s love for unexpected combinations of beautiful natural stones.

Number of Strands: 3

Made in USA  

Length 17.5"