Christopher Nieto is a relatively young artist from Santo Domingo Pueblo who has excelled beyond his years in terms of the exacting precision of his traditional necklaces, both in terms of design and execution of the component parts of his pieces. All of his beads are handmade, whether he is working with turquoise, jet, mother of pearl, red coral or spiny oyster. His mosaic inlay is also of the highest calibre of craftsmanship. His work is increasingly sought after and in May 2006 he won first prize for his necklace entry at the Indian Arts and Crafts Association (IACA) Show in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Chris is a master at making any sort of bead by hand. He attributes much of his skill to diamonds; diamond saw blades, diamond-tipped drills and diamond infused grinding pads. These are handmade beads of apple coral and jet mixed with flat nuggets of blue and green Kingman turquoise. The turquoise is a nice addition to the rich red and black combination. This strand of beads is anything but typical. The necklace terminates in Sterling cones at the catch.

A photo of Christopher (wearing one of his necklaces) can be seen in our Artists section under the letter "N".

Apple Coral Beads: globes 9/16" running length & 3/4" diameter; rolled beads 1/8" running length & 5/16" diameter

Jet Beads: graduated and ranging from 3/8" to 1/2" running length & 1/2" to 1" diameter

Turquoise Nuggets: 1/16" to 1/8" running length; 1/2" to 5/8" diameter

Length: 18 1/2"