"CHACO SERIES COLLECTION "

 NATURAL CRIPPLE CREEK TURQUOISE AND AUTHENTIC HANDMADE SANTO DOMINGO "KEWA" PUEBLO HEISHI. Natural Cripple Creek is mined at an elevation of 9500 ft. back side of Pikes Peak in Colorado.  It is one of few natural turquoise with high hardness and needs no treatment to work with it. I drilled these turquoise nuggets in their natural form and added them to my authentic handmade Heishi on this two strand necklace.  I tied it off with the traditional Pueblo braiding technique.  At the very top of one side of the Heishi shell necklace, I added my signature brand on a small sterling silver disc.  

I then created this pendant first creating and inlay ing natural Cripple Creek turquoise in its natural form onto natural Spiney Oyster shell.  I then worked on the bail at the top of the larger inlaid pendant and shaped into small rectangular shape stones and inlaid them onto harvested Buffalo bone. In the center is a small piece of natural Spiney Oyster shell representing the doorway into Chaco Canyon.  Right underneath the bail I added another turquoise nugget in its natural form and connected both pieces using sterling silver wire. This necklace is made in honor of all my ancestral Pueblo people who first designed and created jewelry in this similar design.  I design and create pieces like this to keep their memory alive through my jewelry designs.  

Authentic handmade Santo Domingo "Kewa" Pueblo made necklace by LeJeune Chavez. 

34" long. 

Pendant measures: 5.5" long × 2.5" wide at widest part of pendant.