Kingman turquoise. Spiny oyster shell "corn. Larger than he ususally makes. These are 3.75 inches long with the wire. The beads are graduated from 6mm.
Each earring is a long teardrop loop of graduated turquoise heishe, with the biggest beads toward the bottom and smaller ones toward the top, and a cluster of shaped red-orange spiny oyster shell 'corn' at the low point of the loop. The turquoise is a clear sky blue with dark matrix running through many of the beads, and a small red bead sits at the top of each loop where it meets the ear wire. They show best with hair pulled back or a plain neckline, where the open loop and the touch of red can be seen.
Big earrings and the ja'claw loop are the two things Lupe Lovato is best known for, and this pair is both at once. He has made jewelry at Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo for over 50 years, mostly in spiny oyster shell and turquoise, much of it Kingman turquoise from Arizona, which is the stone here as well.
