Alice Lovato is an accomplished maker of necklaces and was raised in the jewelrymaking traditions of Santo Domingo Pueblo by a large family which has gained exceptional notoriety for the artistic skills of numerous family members. Aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers--nearly all the Lovatos make jewelry and a wealth of skill and knowledge about this art is passed around and taught among family members. Alice specializes in multi-strand necklaces that are visually rich and sumptuous.

This ten-strand necklace of rounded Kingman turquoise flat nuggets is patterned with banded stripes of high-quality Mediterranean red coral. At first glance, this might appear to be one of Alice's rolled bead necklaces, but it is, in fact, dominated by flat nuggets which have been carefully rounded, though never to perfect circular shape. Doing this has given the necklace the soft, rounded aspect of a rolled bead necklace with the natural, organic look of a nugget necklace. Even flat nuggets don't come like this; these were individually shaped with a wheel before tumbling them to perfectly polished perfection. The color of this turquoise bespeaks its quality and Alice spared no expense in pairing this fine Kingman turquoise with a commensurate quality of Mediterranean red coral. The blue and red make each other pop for color and you can believe the trueness of shades in the vivid photos shown above. Using fine-diameter baby olive shell heishi throughout as spacer beads to make the strands silky smooth in their movement, you'll marvel at how these ten strands hug your body. One thing that can never be seen in the photos and what you won't know until you wear such a necklace is the wonderful feel of the stone when it's warmed by your body and how the rock and wearer become one.

In traditional fashion, the braided beading string is simply tied off in a bow and no metal hardware is used as a catch. The necklace is tied off at a length which allows the wearer to slip it over the head without having to tie it each time to put it on or take it off. Surplus length to the beading string assures that this can be tied to a longer length that will surely fit over any head. Length of the necklace cited below is the measured length at which it is tied in the photographs.

Kingman turquoise round flat nuggets: 1/4" to 7/16" diameter; 1/16" to 3/32" running length

Mediterranean red coral beads: 3/16" diameter; 1/4" to 1/2" running length

Weight: 10.4 ounces

Length (as tied in the photos): 32"