Turquoise and Heishi Three Strand Santo Domingo Necklace

Our Turquoise and Heishi Three Strand Santo Domingo Necklace celebrates turquoise in its purest form. Commissioned especially for us and handmade by a female Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo artisan, three graceful strands of finely worked turquoise heishi fall naturally together, creating beautiful movement without ever feeling heavy. The color shifts subtly from brilliant sky blue to softer blue-green, with touches of natural matrix appearing throughout. Rather than demanding attention through ornamentation, this necklace draws you closer through the quiet individuality of every tiny bead.

Turquoise has been treasured throughout the Southwest for generations, valued for both its beauty and the remarkable variation found within the stone. Blues can move from pale and almost powdery to intensely saturated shades, while traces of brown, tan, or darker matrix reveal the geology from which each piece emerged. This necklace embraces those differences rather than disguising them. Placed together, the individual beads create a wonderful landscape of turquoise, almost like looking across a Southwestern sky where the color is never exactly the same twice.

The necklace also speaks to the celebrated heishi tradition of Santo Domingo Pueblo, also known as Kewa Pueblo. Kewa artists have long been renowned for transforming stone and shell into exceptionally fine beads. The process is painstaking: material is cut into small pieces, drilled, shaped, ground, and polished before being carefully assembled into strands. Achieving beads this delicate and a drape this fluid requires patience, precision, and knowledge traditionally carried through generations of Pueblo makers.

For Jean Marie, commissioning these necklaces is deeply connected to the relationships behind them. She works closely with the artisan, discussing stones, proportions, colors, and the feeling each piece should have while respecting the artist’s own vision and inherited knowledge. For this necklace, simplicity became the beauty, three strands allowing turquoise and craftsmanship to take center stage. Made especially for us, it is a piece rooted in friendship, collaboration, Kewa tradition, and Jean Marie’s enduring love of turquoise.

Number of strands: 3

Made in New Mexico, USA

Length: 19"