Rustic Extra Large Nevada Turquoise and Silver Necklace with Hammered Links

:: Cima Sky ::

This is a stone I’ve had for quite some time, saving it for something special. It’s a natural and untreated Nevada turquoise, Royston, I believe, which is backed with resin. The sky blue colors mixed with green are characteristic of that part of the world, and the light and dark brown matrix sets them off beautifully. Turquoise is a stone of peace and balance, and brings with it a sense of general well-being. Many Native people in the Southwest also consider it to be protective.

It’s set in a sterling silver bezel encircled with hammered wires which evolved in an interesting way. I like the way the finer gauge wire wraps around the heavier one. Hanging below it are two fine silver clay pendants I made from the old Precious Metal Clay, which, sadly, is no longer being made. This was a very beautiful material which took exquisite impressions, and I carried some into the Mojave desert to the raw lava flows of the Cima volcanic field where they were impressed directly onto the lava surface. You can see the edge of the flow in the last photo and the longer of the two pendants drying on the rock it had just been impressed with in the next to last picture. I had a hard time finding some that was smooth enough to be suitable for a clay impression! The energy out there was wild, and clear and very beautiful in a raw, uncompromising way. Young rock like this is far from settled and has a dynamic, fiery energy just below the surface…very different from something like granite or limestone!

Pendant links and the entire chain were created from sterling silver that was hammered on desert rock, a very hard sandstone. It’s a laborious process as all was done by hand, going up one at a time. It was then oxidized and hand finished to take out all rough edges. This one has a longer chain than the quartz pendant I just did, and the turquoise rests just over the heart.

For desert spirits and fearless souls…

SIZE: The neck chain is 20 1/2”” long. The turquoise pendant assemblage is 5 1/2” x 1 1/2”.

CARE: Rinse in cool water to clean and gently blot dry. Avoid using soap, oils or lotions of any kind on the turquoise as they can cause it to discolor. Blot dry with a towel. To polish, I recommend steel wool to preserve the satiny shine, taking care to avoid the turquoise. Or you can use a silver polishing cloth for a brighter finish.

PACKAGING: This necklace will arrive giftwrapped in hand-decorated, Earth-friendly packaging, wrapped inside an organic cotton pouch. Please reuse or recycle the wrappings.

SHIPPING: Your talisman will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Shipping is always free.