Sterling Silver Cowrie Seashells Pendant Malachite Necklace 21", Navajo Native American Jewelry
This circa early 1980s necklace is unusual and cool. It is made with a large sterling silver foundation shaped like a flower, and in the sawtooth bezels are six cowrie shelles, and then in the center is a fire agate. The pendants has eye hooks on either side, and on each side a fairly good sized smooth bezel containing malachite. From there is a fairly wide handmade chain ending in a spring clasp. This is not a traditional Native American necklace but I do believe it is Native made for a few reasons. First, those sawtooth bezels and the use of elements like "raindrops" in between each shell. Cowrie shells have a long history of being used in Native American jewelry, as they were trade currency. Malachite is a fairly common stone used in Native American jewelry, and fire agate is common in Mexican jewelry and less so Native American. I feel this may have been the early piece of Navajo artist who was perhaps learning, experimenting, and open to using some unusual materials in their work, as well as an uncommon design. Another giveaway is the that one of the raindrops appears to be brass--perhaps the artist ran out of sterling silver and used what was available. I did acid test the silver foundation, and it is positive for sterling silver. The piece carries the hallmark of a large D and smaller RS. There are several Navajo artists with DR and DS, but no DRS. Again, if it were an early piece, the artist could have landed on a two-letter hallmark later on. I especially love the use of cowrie shells in jewelry, as they have such symbolic and historical power. From a website: "According to African legend, if you are attracted to the shell it was believed you carried the strength of the ocean. In Africa, South America and North America, the cowrie symbolized prosperity and destiny. Additionally, in many West African cultures the cowrie shell is regarded as a sign of fertility. However, the cowrie shell is one of the recognizable symbols in African culture because it was one of the first signs of wealth and money known to mankind. In ancient Africa, the cowrie shell was used as currency. Because of their light-weight, non-perishable nature, cowries were often threaded into bracelets or long strings of forty for trade. Possibly introduced as early as the 8th century by caravans of Arab traders, cowrie shells became a standard form of currency especially in the Empire of Mali, by the 15th century. For a long time, the cowrie existed with many other forms of currency in West Africa, including brass, beads, copper rods and salt bars. By the 18th century, the cowrie became the preferred form of currency along trade routes of West Africa and carried a status of wealth and power. At the time of colonization, Europeans tried adamantly to replace the cowrie shell with new, more centralized bank notes. This effort, however, was not met with willingness from the tribes across West Africa. When the French prohibited the use of cowries as money in 1907, the elders resisted by refusing to include the new money in their monetary system. This resistance lasted until the 1940s." Today there is jewelry made with faux porcelain cowrie shells that sell in the hundreds of dollars--that is how much the cowrie shell is revered! So this authentic cowrie shell pendant necklace is precious for that reason, not to mention the way they form a flower in a truly one-of-a-kind necklace.
The necklace measure 21" end to end, and that center cluster pendant with cowrie shells is about 2" by 2". The malachite bezels are each about 1" long by 1/2" wide. Weighs 44g. In good condition, with the shells and stones well seated.
For the person who marches to her own beat.
*************
Please convo with questions, or call (505) 369-6865. Will return your call as soon as possible.
*************
For More Native Necklaces, Pendants, and Pins: http://bit.ly/2ESs4Tf
Native American Earrings: http://bit.ly/2FyZ8wy
Native American Rings: http://bit.ly/2HQXwyY
Native Bracelets and Watches: https://bit.ly/2NpeypL
Native Belts and Bolos: http://bit.ly/2oz2XKp
All items: https://romaarellano.com
Shipping from United States
Processing time
1-3 business days
Estimated shipping times
- North America : 4 - 12 weeks
- Europe : 6 - 16 weeks
- Australia, New Zealand and Oceania : 6 - 16 weeks
- Asia Pacific : 6 - 16 weeks
- Latin America and the Caribbean : 6 - 16 weeks
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Customs and import taxes
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Payment Options
Returns & Exchanges
I gladly accept returns and cancellations
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 30 days of delivery
Conditions of return
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Privacy policy
This Privacy Policy describes how and when your data are collected and used when you purchase an item from this shop or romaarellano.com, also administered by etsy.com. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third parties, including Etsy or any third party services you access through Etsy. You can reference the Etsy Privacy Policy to learn more about its privacy practices.
Etsy or PayPal, depending on which you use, administers payments, and therefore protects your financial per their respective privacy policies. This shop does not have access to credit card or bank details.
Information Collected by this Shop
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
To fulfill your order, you provide information through Etsy, such as name, email address, postal address, payment information, and details of the product ordered. You may also choose to provide additional personal information regarding the order if you contact the shop directly.
This shop collects, uses, and shares your information for specific tasks such as:
• providing services to fulfill your order, to settle disputes should any occur, and provide customer support;
• when you have provided consent, which you may revoke at any time, by signing up for a mailing list or request detail of future product availability;
• to comply with a legal obligation or court order or in connection with a legal claim, such as retaining information about your purchases if required by tax law; and
• as necessary for the purpose of legitimate interests such as Compliance with the Etsy Seller Policy and Terms of Use.
Information about this shop's customers is necessary to our business. Personal information is used for specific and limited reasons and circumstances, as follows:
• Information is shared with Etsy as necessary to provide services and comply with obligations under both the Etsy Seller Policy and Etsy Terms of Use.
• If we sell or merge this business, we may disclose your information as part of that transaction, only to the extent permitted by law.
• We may collect, use, retain, and share your information if we have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests; (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of our customers, or others.
Data Retention
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We retain customer personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with services, as described in this Privacy Policy and to comply with any legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes should any arise, and to enforce agreements. For tax purposes, we generally keep customer data for seven years.
If you have any questions regarding data privacy, please contact the shop owner via the built-in messaging system. Thank you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Worldwide Shipping, Processing & Insurance
• We ship to many parts of the world. On any listing, enter your zip or postal code into the Shipping box to find out if your country is included and how much it will cost. If you find we do not ship to your country, contact us to find out if we might be able to.
• We ship within 1-3 days of order via USPS, Fed Ex, and UPS. and any order of $100 or more will be insured via third party insurance.
• Any package valued at $250 or more will require Signature upon delivery. Third Party insurer requires Signature in certain cases, so please do not ask that we ship without Signature as this creates a risk we are not willing to take.
Returns & Refunds
• We accept returns. Per our policies, contact us within 14 days of delivery. Return shipping with insurance and tracking is at your expense. We process refunds once the item is returned in the same condition received.
• If your item arrives damaged, photograph it with packaging so we may make a claim.
• Returning an item is no fun; contact us before buying to ask questions or request additional photos. I'd rather talk you out of something vs your being disappointed with a purchase!
• Our top priority is your positive experience with this shop, and our greatest hope is that you LOVE the item purchased!
Do you do layaways?
We can work with you on a payment plan with immediate down payment up to two months for full payment.
Note that layaways past due over 30 days go into default. Once in default the transaction is cancelled and layaway payments are not returnable due to having removed items from the market and losing potential sales.
Convo to talk about a layaway plan that works for your budget.
Do you accept offers?
Please, no offers. We receive so much correspondence daily that we are unable to respond to offer requests.
We have loyal customers who return again and again and use the repeat customer discount coupon for 10% off. We set fair prices from the get-go. If something is expensive, you know it's good.
We do run sales occasionally, so watch for those. And we value community. Whether you are a returning customer, Facebook friend, or Instagram follower--our thanks to you is 10% off for supporting this shop. Please go to the About section of the main shop page and click on the social media links. Follow us on one of those platforms, convo to say you've done so and we'll send you the coupon code for 10% off.
Will you reserve or hold items?
We do NOT do reserves or holds. Like any business, we use sales proceeds to keep the shop running. We truly can't afford to take items off the market. But even if you have some funds with which to make a down payment, we can do layaway with you. Just convo to say you'd like to do a layaway, and we'll work with you on that route instead of a Hold or Reserve.
Can you tell me SOLD prices?
We get correspondance almost daily asking how much certain items are worth or what the price was of items that have sold, and we can no longer respond to these messages.
Reviews (1)
Average:
Jul 28, 2022
Thank you, Roma! I love it! The malachite stones are even more stunning than in the photos. This is my third piece from you (the other two were purchased by my husband as gifts.) The quality of your items and eye for what makes them special keeps me coming back.
Cheryl Bergeron