26" Navajo pearls w/turquoise-BIL 656

26" Navajo pearls w/turquoise.The beads are made of solid sterling silver. Genuine turquoise. Handcrafted by Navajo artist Rose Martin.They have a medium weight and are easy to wear.There traditional style makes them beautiful. HANDCRAFTED NECKLACE BY ARTIST ROSE MARTIN Navajo Pearls are traditionally made sterling silver beads. (Silver beads are a traditional art form of the Diné silversmiths.) The beads have as many shapes and sizes as there are artisans. The traditional way of making beads is a time-consuming process. Each bead begins either with sheet silver or with silver that must rolled and cut. Some beads today are manufactured. Sterling silver Is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals. For example, 99.9% pure silver, is relatively soft, so silver is usually alloyed with copper to increase its hardness and strength. Sterling silver is prone to tarnishing, and elements other than copper can be used in alloys to reduce tarnishing. Oxidized silver (black coloring in the silver) is a process that many jewelers use to give sterling silver a black patina. It gives the jewelry an antique or tarnished look. The process consists of taking clean sterling silver and using a chemical (liver of Sulphur) to treat it to speed up the tarnishing effect.