Inv# VTSTM1904

Guarantee:  Spiny Oyster Shell & Turquoise Slab earrings with Sterling Silver ear wires; by KEWA [Santo Domingo] Native American jewelry artist Veronica Tortalito ; approx. 2.2” total length & 7.9 grams weight.

Detailed Description:  Earrings with Sterling Silver ear wires suspending a 1.5” long, unique rectangular-shaped slab consisting of Spiny Oyster Shell & Turquoise; made in 2019 pre-Covid by KEWA [Santo Domingo] Native American jewelry artist Veronica Tortalito.  ‘Spiny Oyster’ is a common name used for this beautiful shell, but it’s a misleading name because it is not shell from an oyster.  Rather, this is the shell of a non-oyster family of ocean bivalve mollusks, whose scientific name is Spondylus.  Depending on the Spondylus species, a ‘Spiny Oyster’ shell can be multi-colored with shades of white, red, orange, purple, and gold.  The most valued shell colors are those with large amounts of red or orange and gold.  As in this Veronica Tortalito earring pair, the white/orange/gold Spiny Oyster shell makes a beautiful earring when combined with turquoise in a slab form.

Hand-crafting jewelry using natural semi-precious stones inherently can result in some relatively minor variations in jewelry; this can happen even with highly skilled artisans like Veronica Tortalito. We want to point out that this pair of Veronica’s ‘spiny oyster’ & turquoise slab earrings has 2 artifacts of the hand-crafting process that some people may consider as imperfections that would detract from their pleasure in owning the earrings. FIRST, there is an approximate 0.6 gram weight difference between the 2 earrings. We recognize that despite the beauty of these earrings, for some people that weight difference may be noticeable when wearing the earrings. Second, the earring wire hole on 1 slab is not perfectly centered. In our opinion this does NOT appear to us to affect the ‘dangle’ of the earring, you may disagree and consider it undesirable. To compensate for this imperfection, we reduced the price. We point these out upfront because we want you to be thoroughly delighted with your purchases from us. Please do NOT purchase these earrings if you think either the slight weight difference between each earring –or the slightly off-center slab hole --will detract from your enjoyment of them. As noted above, for hygienic and anti-Covid reasons, we do NOT permit returns/exchanges.

Materials:  Spiny Oyster shell and Turquoise slab; Sterling Silver ear wires. WE WILL NO LONGER OFFER ‘SPINY OYSTER’ SHELL JEWELRY AFTER SALE OF OUR EXISTING FEW ITEMS. WHY? See “Comments” below.

Detailed Dimensions.  [Dimensions are approximate; measurements made with a micrometer]

• Earring Total length including ear wires:  2.2”; with 0.5” long ear wire & 1.5” long slab “dangle”

• Earring slab widest width:  0.5”

• Weight:  7.9 grams total. Earring individual weights differ slightly--1 earring slab is slightly thicker, making that earring approximately 0.6 grams heavier than the other. IF you think this slight weight difference will bother you when wearing the earrings, please DO NOT PURCHASE THEM. For hygienic & anti-Covid reasons, we do NOT permit returns —see our return policy.

Comments.  These beautiful turquoise & ‘spiny oyster’ slab earrings were hand-crafted in 2019 pre-Covid by Kewa [Santo Domingo] Native American jewelry artist Veronica Tortalito.  Each of Veronica’s earrings is a unique reflection of her superb artistic vision and skill.  She is known for the unique shapes and beauty of her slab ‘Spiny Oyster’ and turquoise earrings.

She begins by envisioning the design, shape, size and beauty she wants to create out of specific small pieces of a slab of turquoise & Spiny Oyster shell.  To produce an especially beautiful earring pair, she also has to select a second piece of slab that will closely match the same colors, design & pattern of turquoise & shell as the first piece!  [This is very challenging due to extensive variation in slab matrix composition & thickness, and natural variation in the color and characteristics of semi-precious stones. ] Next is hand-shaping the pieces into appealing shapes; followed by polishing the surfaces & carefully drilling holes for the sterling silver wire.  Unskilled or hurried work can crack, scratch, or demolish turquoise and other semi-precious stones & ‘slabs’ because they are relatively soft materials.  So we are awed when we think about the artistic vision required—not only the time involved and difficulty of hand-selecting, hand-cutting, hand-shaping, & hand-drilling the slab pieces—to produce one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted earrings like these!

As noted above, this specific pair of earrings has 2 of what some might consider “imperfections”: (1) an off-center wire drill hole on 1 earring slab; (2) slightly thicker slab on 1 earring, resulting in it being 0.6 grams heavier than the other earring. In compensation for this, we have reduced the price. However, please do NOT buy these if these hand-made imperfections concern you or detract from your enjoyment of the earrings, despite their beauty.

Color Differences in photos. You may observe color differences in the photos we posted of the slab earrings because the color of turquoise and ‘Spiny Oyster’ looks different in different lighting. We purposely take the photos with varying types of light so that you can see the different look of the earrings in differing light conditions.

The jewelry market is now flooded with inexpensive fake “American Indian” silver jewelry that in fact originates in foreign countries where it is either hand-made in ‘sweat shops’ or mass-produced by machines in factories.  Native Americans are not only the first occupants of America—they also are the first American artists as reflected in prehistoric dwellings, petroglyphs, pictographs, paintings, basketry, pottery, foot wear, and clothing. Many Native American artists rely on sale of their unique art to support themselves and their families.  So by purchasing a Veronica Tortalita ‘original’, you are supporting not only an especially skilled Native American artist, but also helping to preserve the threatened hand-crafted art knowledge, vision and skills handed down by previous generations of their ancestors. 

WHY WE WILL NOT SELL MORE ‘SPINY OYSTER’ JEWELRY. Since pre-Covid 2019 when we purchased this jewelry with ‘Spiny Oyster’ shell, research has demonstrated that ocean populations of Spondylus bivalve mollusks are being depleted along with many other ocean species. This is caused by 2 factors: adverse ocean ecological changes caused by fossil fuel-driven climate change, along with world-wide demand for beautiful ocean shells. Ocean corals became endangered more than a decade ago. That is why we have NEVER offered any coral jewelry.

WE DO NOT WANT TO BE A FACTOR IN HELPING MAKE SPONDYLUS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, so after our current few ‘spiny oyster’ necklaces and earrings are sold, we will no longer purchase or offer jewelry with ‘spiny oyster’ or any other threatened species. PLEASE JOIN US IN HELPING END CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSED BY FOSSIL FUEL-DOMINATED ECONOMIES: (1) become politically active in demanding fast climate action by elected officials; (2) join & support nonprofit citizen groups leading the fight to save Mother Earth & our children’s future: 350.org and BiologicalDiversity.org—2 terrific leaders of the fight.