Louise and Ella Bella are a Navajo team of sisters who make everything from pins and pendants to bracelets to concha belts. Their work is very traditional in its design and shows high standards of craftsmanship.
This classic concha belt consists of eleven rectangular conchas plus a belt buckle of the same design as the conchas. An oval of green Chinese turquoise is set in the center of each concha and the buckle. Each rectangular concha has a domed center with figurative eagle feathers radiating from the center stone and the edges of the conchas and buckle are scallop-cut and highlighted by scallop stampwork. Because of the size of the conchas, two strips of copper attach each to the belt strip to assure that each concha stays in alignment with the leather strip. The belt strip is one inch wide and has a length of 44 1/2 ". The leather is black cowhide. This is what we refer to as a "belt loop" concha belt because it will fit through the belt loops of any standard manufacture jeans.
Detailed instructions for adjusting the size and for care of the belt over time are included with each belt we sell. It is not a difficult process to perfectly adjust this to one's specific size.
Hallmarked "LEB" and stamped "Sterling" on the back of the buckle.
Buckle & 11 Conchas: 2 1/8" x 1 3/4"
Stones: (12) ovals 3/8" x 5/16"
**The running linear length of all the conchas and the buckle equals 25 1/2". Assuming minimal spacing between the conchas, this belt probably requires a minimum waist size of 30" (without removing any conchas). Maximum waist size for the belt to have proper visual weight without spacing the conchas too far apart would be 36 " (in our estimation).
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