Authentic Native American Jewelry and Artifacts
Cynetta Smith, Navajo
Olive Shell Wafer Heishi Necklace
with Blue Horse
HK Item #NH1081

Cynetta Smith, Navajo
Olive Shell Wafer Heishi Necklace
with Blue Horse

NH1081 - $125 SOLD

More Heishi Necklaces

Paula says - "Brand new with Certificate of Authenticity."

Horse of blue plastic.

More Heishi Necklaces

The Grizzli Collection

Garris was an attorney in New York City, and was once an assistant district attorney for Queens County. It was during her legal career that she was nicknamed "Grizzli" by her colleagues for her relentless aggression in the courtroom going after white collar criminals; her late husband, David, called her "Grizzli" ever since they met, and her license plate also read"Grizzli". When Garris attended law school, she met her best friend Gila, who moved to Tucson, and it was on trips to Arizona visiting Gila that Garris fell in love with Native American jewelry, especially pieces with birds or bears (given her nickname). David was half Cherokee, and even though Garris was very much a Jewish New Yorker without any personal connection to tribal culture or artwork, her love for David amplified her interest in these pieces. Over the years, she built up a massive collection of jewelry. We are pleased to offer a variety of pieces from Grizzli's collection.

Heishi means shell and in the past, referred to pieces of shell that have been drilled and hand rolled or ground into bead shapes and strung as necklaces. With the reduced availability of some shell materials, the modern Native American artists also use hand made beads of other natural materials including stones when making Heishi Necklaces.

Heishi originated with the Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. That's why many people refer to this type of jewelry as Santo Domingo jewelry.

Although all of the items we sell in our Native American Jewelry Store are hand made by Navajo, Hopi, Zuni or Rio Grande Pueblo Indian craftsmen and women, there are many inexpensive imitation heishi items for sale elsewhere that use man-made materials and are produced by non-Native Americans. So, like many other things, you get what you pay for. If you want an authentic, traditional Heishi Necklace, this is the type you should be looking for.

The shells most commonly chosen for heishi include penn shell, olive shells, spiny oysters, mother-of-pearl (MOP), and melon shell. Coral is also used as well as stones such as lapis, turquoise, jet, pipestone, and serpentine.

Heishi beads are made by slicing the shell or stone into uniform strips. Then the pieces are nipped into small squares. Each square then has a hole drilled in it. The squares are strung, each material being strung in a separate group. The strings of squares are smoothed and rounded by grinding and rolling the beads. Once the beads have reached the rough ground round stage, they are ready for sanding. The beads are smoothed and shaped using sandpaper. The string of finished material is washed and dried in the sun. Then they are polished on a leather belt.

Now the artist strings the various heishi beads in a unique design.

Authentic handmade heishi, although smooth and of uniform consistency, will have variations among the beads. There will be a variation in color and thickness or there might be a slight imperfection in the shell or bead. This adds to its unique appearance.

What is stabilized turquoise?

Often with Heishi Necklaces and other nugget necklaces, the turquoise has been stabilized. This means that a natural turquoise nugget has been treated with a stabilizing agent that closes the pores of the stone so it will not change color or fracture. This allows the artist to use smaller beads for necklaces; they would otherwise fracture if not stabilized. It also means your turquoise jewelry will look just as bright and beautiful years from now as from the day you purchased it.

Natural turquoise, although beautiful, can change color when it comes in contact with body oil, hand lotion, soap or any other fat-based compound. Blue stones tend to become more green.

Although all stones can fracture if treated roughly, natural stones tend to fracture more easily than stabilized stones. When a natural stone is used in a sturdy sterling silver setting, it is protected but when it is used as beads in a necklace, it could be easily chipped. That's why most heishi and nugget necklaces use stabilized turquoise.

About Olive Shell

Olive shells are mollusks found mostly in warm tropical seas. These snails are carnivorous sand-burrowers, feeding mostly on bivalves and carrion and are known as some of the fastest burrowers among snails. An olive shell is smooth, and oval-shaped with various muted but attractive colors, and often patterns.The shell surface is extremely glossy because in life it almost always covered and protected by a mantle.

Indian Horse Symbolism

The Horse Spirit inspires our dreams, awakens passion, carries us far and fast, and brings us close to our instinctual and authentic nature. Horse enables us to move beyond our limitations and run freely. Spirit or Medicine Horses were and are extremely helpful in guidance, healing, protection and ceremony. Horse represents wisdom, physical power and unearthly power. Horse enables healers to travel in Spirit energy, using Horse to help guide them to the answer. Horse symbols can express our magical side. Horse is also known as a symbol of freedom and independence.