SUNLINE
Michelle Jameson · Hand-Stamped Navajo Pearls · Sterling Silver · 22” · 74g
At first these look like beautiful, classic Navajo pearls.
And then you get close.
Every bead has its own little stamped burst at the ends, repeated bead after bead until this incredibly simple silver necklace suddenly has rhythm. The dark oxidation settles into the stamping while the bodies of the beads stay bright and reflective.
This is Michelle Jameson doing exactly what makes handmade Navajo pearls worth collecting: taking an object that could be completely uniform and leaving evidence of the hand everywhere.
Hence the name: Sunline.
ARTIFACT REGISTRY
Artifact: Sunline
Maker: Michelle Jameson
Origin: Diné (Navajo), Gallup, New Mexico
Materials: Sterling silver
Form: Hand-stamped Navajo pearl necklace
Length: 22 inches 12mm
Weight: 74 grams
Closure: Hook and eye
Collector’s Gallery Value: $1950
CURATOR’S FIELD OBSERVATION
The clever part is where she put the decoration.
Instead of covering the broad face of every pearl with stamping, Jameson concentrates these little radiating marks around the openings. Once the beads are strung together, every junction becomes a dark sunburst.
So the pattern isn’t really on the individual bead.
It appears between the beads.
That’s such a tiny decision, and it changes the entire strand.
ERIC’S NOTES FROM THE FIELD
I have become increasingly obsessed with Navajo pearls because the really good ones teach you very quickly that simple and easy are not remotely the same thing.
Twenty-two inches of silver beads sounds straightforward.
Then Michelle Jameson individually makes the damn things, stamps those tiny sunbursts around every end, oxidizes them so the pattern pops, and somehow gets the entire strand to behave like one continuous object.
Quiet from ten feet away. Ridiculous when you get close.
Sunline Michelle Jameson Stamped Navajo Pearls
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Sterling Silver
Native-Made & Handcrafted with Care
Navajo Pearls
Compass Necklace
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SUNLINE
Michelle Jameson · Hand-Stamped Navajo Pearls · Sterling Silver · 22” · 74g
At first these look like beautiful, classic Navajo pearls.
And then you get close.
Every bead has its own little stamped burst at the ends, repeated bead after bead until this incredibly simple silver necklace suddenly has rhythm. The dark oxidation settles into the stamping while the bodies of the beads stay bright and reflective.
This is Michelle Jameson doing exactly what makes handmade Navajo pearls worth collecting: taking an object that could be completely uniform and leaving evidence of the hand everywhere.
Hence the name: Sunline.
ARTIFACT REGISTRY
Artifact: Sunline
Maker: Michelle Jameson
Origin: Diné (Navajo), Gallup, New Mexico
Materials: Sterling silver
Form: Hand-stamped Navajo pearl necklace
Length: 22 inches 12mm
Weight: 74 grams
Closure: Hook and eye
Collector’s Gallery Value: $1950
CURATOR’S FIELD OBSERVATION
The clever part is where she put the decoration.
Instead of covering the broad face of every pearl with stamping, Jameson concentrates these little radiating marks around the openings. Once the beads are strung together, every junction becomes a dark sunburst.
So the pattern isn’t really on the individual bead.
It appears between the beads.
That’s such a tiny decision, and it changes the entire strand.
ERIC’S NOTES FROM THE FIELD
I have become increasingly obsessed with Navajo pearls because the really good ones teach you very quickly that simple and easy are not remotely the same thing.
Twenty-two inches of silver beads sounds straightforward.
Then Michelle Jameson individually makes the damn things, stamps those tiny sunbursts around every end, oxidizes them so the pattern pops, and somehow gets the entire strand to behave like one continuous object.
Quiet from ten feet away. Ridiculous when you get close.
