Navajo Coral, Turquoise and Silver Pendant Necklace

Our Navajo Multistone Silver, Coral, and Turquoise Pendant Necklace is an exuberant piece of wearable sculpture, commissioned especially for Pax Philomena and handmade by a talented female Navajo silversmith. Four remarkable natural materials descend through the pendant in a striking composition: deep purple spiny oyster, a heart-shaped cabochon of vivid green Sonoran Gold turquoise, glowing coral, and brilliant blue turquoise. Each stone is individually bezel-set within richly worked silver, surrounded by hand-stamped radiating motifs and polished silver spheres. Suspended from a simple black cord, the pendant feels at once unmistakably Southwestern and unexpectedly contemporary.

The materials tell stories that stretch across landscapes and generations. Sonoran Gold turquoise, mined in northern Sonora, Mexico, is prized for colors ranging from lime and apple green to blue-green, frequently accompanied by warm golden or brown matrix. The brilliant blue turquoise below it recalls one of the materials most closely associated with Diné jewelry, treasured for generations and often connected with ideas of water, sky, protection, health, and well-being. Coral, introduced into Southwestern trade centuries ago, brought an intense red counterpoint to turquoise and became an enduring element in Native jewelry.

The uppermost purple spiny oyster adds another chapter. Spondylus shell has traveled into the Southwest through ancient trade networks for centuries, long before modern jewelry making, and historic museum collections document the pairing of shell, turquoise, coral, and silver in Native adornment. Here, these materials are not given one fixed symbolic meaning; instead, their significance lies in the history they carry and in the Navajo tradition of transforming precious stone, shell, and silver through accomplished handwork. Each cabochon has been shaped, polished, set, soldered, and framed so that its individual color and character remain distinct.

For Jean Marie, commissioning this piece was about allowing a Navajo artist’s imagination to lead. Jean Marie's appreciation for Native American jewelry began during childhood travels through the Southwest with her mother, Philomena, and today she especially values opportunities to work directly with female Native artisans. She was captivated by the whimsical combination of green, purple, coral red, and turquoise blue, colors that should compete, yet somehow become completely harmonious in the artist’s hands. One of a kind in spirit, this pendant is a celebration of material, craftsmanship, and collaboration: a vivid piece of contemporary Navajo artistry made especially for Pax Philomena.

Made in Arizona, USA.

Length 2.25" including bale

Width 7.8"

Leather Necklace Included