7 White Bears and Heishi Necklace
HK Item #N747

Jewelry < Vintage Jewelry < Vintage Necklaces

24 inch necklace with Olive Shell heishi and 7 white alabaster bears

size	24" end to end; bears 1 1/4" long
materials	alabaster, olive shell heishi, read about stones sterling silver, read about silver
condition	pre-owned, excellent; no broken or missing pieces
hallmarks	none
artist	unknown

24 inch necklace with Olive Shell heishi and 7 white alabaster bears

Strung on cable, ends finished with sterling cones, and hook and eye.

Questions or more details.

Store Policies

7 White Bears Necklace - N747

$85 plus s/h
(ONLY ONE AVAILABLE)

Paula says - "In my opinion, this bear necklace shows design characteristics and workmanship of being Native American made. But because there is no hallmark that we can attribute to a specific artist we can't legally sell it as Native American made - read more."

24 inch necklace with Olive Shell heishi and 7 white alabaster bears

Olive Shell heishi.

Vintage Necklaces

New Heishi Necklaces

Bargain Necklaces

The Grizzli Collection

The Grizzli Collection of authentic Native American jewelry 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 Native American symbolism. Over the years, she amassed an extensive collection of southwest jewelry. We are pleased to find new homes for Grizzli's collection. Many pieces, although beautiful, are not Native American made, and that's why we are selling them here in the Bargain Barn.

Native American Bear Symbolism

Bear is considered the most powerful of all of the animals and is one of the most popular subjects of Native American carvers. Bear is a spiritual guide and represents strength and self-knowledge. Bear has supernatural powers and great healing powers. Bear is a symbol deliberate action, introspection, soul and insight for the past and the future. The Bear is the guardian of the West an is one of the animals of the Six Directions. Bears are the main figure in the Mountain Way, an important Navajo ceremony. Bear claws are a traditional adornment to pendants and bracelets.

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.

About Silver

100% solid silver won't tarnish but it is too soft to use for making jewelry - it could easily be scratched, dented and bent. Sterling silver has a small amount of one or more other metals usually copper, added to the silver. To be called sterling silver, the alloy must contain at least 92.5% pure silver. Sterling silver alloy is harder than pure silver but the added metals also can cause discoloration or tarnish.

Why isn't this item called Native American?

The US Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 and its recent Amendments require that items described as Native American or Indian be made by an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. Furthermore, government regulations suggest that all attributions include the Native American Indian's name, tribe and federal tribal enrollment number. Because it is impossible to identify the artist for many vintage items, even if they are authentic Indian made items, we cannot and will not use the words Native American or Indian in association with such pieces.

Read about authenticity of Native American Indian jewelry.

NOTE: Items in our Vintage Shop are either USED or NEW. They might come from inheritances, estate sales, private collections, and store liquidations. Many items are brand new (NOS, New Old Stock) and in perfect condition while others may show tarnish, scratches and other signs of use. Major issues will be described in detail and shown in photos. Vintage Shop items are sold as described and are not returnable.

Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition © 2015 Horsekeeping LLC © Copyright Information
Patina	A dark or colored film of oxidation that forms naturally on metal exposure to air and other elements. It is often valued for its aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Vintage	30 years or older.
NOS	New Old Stock. Retail store inventory from at least 10 years ago.
Pre-owned	An item that has been used.

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

We are in the vintage Native American jewelry rescue business and are passionate about finding new homes for used and vintage jewelry and artifacts. That's why we purchase Native American pieces from estates, inheritances, collection downsizing and New Old Stock (NOS) inventory from closed stores.

Often people contact us after taking a box of Native American jewelry to their local pawn shop and find that a pawn shop is mainly interested in melt value of the metals and not in preserving the beautiful historic pieces. To hear that people have considered selling these treasures for melt value makes us truly sad.

Melt value is usually far below what we would offer for the jewelry. Yet we can't pay retail price for items because of the time and cost involved in finding new homes for them. We have to research, often repair and restore the jewelry, photograph and list each item on our website, and sometimes hold pieces in inventory for years until the right buyer comes along.

We hope you'll find something special in our vintage shop that will complete yet another circle of our jewelry re-homing mission.

7 White Bears and Heishi NecklaceHK Item #N747

The Grizzli Collection

Native American Bear Symbolism

About Olive Shell

About Silver

Why isn't this item called Native American?

Our Rescue Missionof Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

7 White Bears and Heishi Necklace
HK Item #N747

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts