All new by Wings: a gift from a special spirit.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Yup, it's as the title says up there. All new by Wings: a gift from a special spirit. These just dropped this afternoon, and they are . . . well, I'm as green as the stones are, only in my case, with envy.  These are breathtaking. They're called The Gift of the Water Bird, and you can read their full description here. 

These are made with natural American turquoise, and as usual, there's a small story behind their use. You see, we're not entirely sure what mine they come from; they weren't labeled. But we can make some educated guesses. It used to be that, at the end of the year, we'd go down to Santa Fe to the company that supplies the silver and a big percentage of the stones Wings uses in his work. At the end of the year, post-Christmas, stuff's occasionally on sale, and it was a good time to use what we earned from holiday sales to reinvest in his work by picking up a few really good cabochons. About six years ago, he acquired several small parcels of turquoise in that way, including several sets of earring pairs. These were not your usual earring pairs, perfectly calibrated and matching; these were decently-sized freeform cabochons of natural turquoise, picked because they came relatively close to each other in shape, size, and general coloring. Among those he selected that year were several of these "unmatched" earring pairs, and several of them were from the Cripple Creek Mine in Colorado. 

Now, Cripple Creek is a beautiful classic turquoise in terms of stone color, ranging mostly from robin's-egg to ice blues, with the occasional seafoam green thrown in for good measure. What makes it distinctive, though, is its matrix: It typically ranges from a golden color to coppery and rusty reds, the latter quite dark, and they appear as both patches and webbing throughout the stone. It makes it fairly identifiable, though, as always, there are exceptions in both directions: Cripple Creek that looks like other stone, and other stone that looks like Cripple Creek. 

At any rate, I thought I knew for sure that that's what these were, but when I went back and looked through the few photos I could find, I couldn't identify this pair in any of them. I also realized immediately that my photos from the stones acquired that year were incomplete (or, at least, not where I expected to find them; they might exist on a flash drive somewhere). And so I asked Wings where, exactly, in the studio he found this pair. They were together in one of the boxes below his work area, and they called to him yesterday. So clearly they were meant for this pair. And just as clearly, they were entirely out of place (i.e., from where they're usually kept), and neither of us recalls how or when they got there.

Still, I think it's a safe bet that they are Cripple Creek. They are most certainly natural American turquoise, and not the cheap stuff, either. And they have found their home in one of the most exquisite, spirit-infused pairs of earrings he's made in a while. So go check them out. While you're there, look at his complete current inventory of traditional and contemporary Indigenous silverwork (as well as plenty of other Native art). And order via the Contact form here. 



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.