Chokers are the short-strand form: the small chokers made by Robert or Howard are 20 inches in length and the beads are 5mm in diameter, and at Santo Domingo they are strung from graduated Kingman turquoise beads. Lupe Lovato's are the best known here; he is most noted for his large earrings and his ja'claw designs. Bead sizes are approximate: Santo Domingo artists do not use calipers, work is sized by eye.
This choker is made by Dorene Calabaza. This is 17" long and the beads are 4mm in diameter. Made from turquoise, white and orange melo shell, jet and coral.
This choker is made by Dorene Calabaza. This is 17" long and the beads are 4mm in diameter. Made from turquoise, melo shell, olive shell, jet and pipestone.
This single-strand choker is built in blocks of color rather than a random mix. Runs of black jet and creamy white shell meet sections where black and white beads alternate like piano keys, then give way to red-brown pipestone, a stretch of striped brown and cream beads, and a short bright run of turquoise near the front. Every bead is the same small disc, so the strand is smooth and even all the way around. At 17 inches it sits close around the base of the neck and closes with a clasp at the back. The pattern is lively enough to wear alone and narrow enough to layer with a longer turquoise necklace.
Dorene Calabaza makes chokers, necklaces and bracelets in these multi-color patterns by hand at Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo, and this single strand is her color-block pattern in its simplest form. The discs are heishe: each one cut, drilled and then ground smooth on the strand so the whole run is even.
This choker is made by Dorene Calabaza. This is 17" long and the beads are 4mm in diameter. Made from turquoise, melo shell, jet, serpentine and pipestone.
Made from white melo shell with turquoise, pipestone, jet and serpentine accents. This necklace is 18 inches long adjustable to 22 inches. Finished with silver cones, hood & eyes and chain. Beads are 4mm in diameter.
This choker is 17" long adjustable to 21.5". The beads are 4mm in diameter and are made from white melo shell, jet, pipestone, Olivia shell and turquoise.
