This is Wings's latest, and I don't have the words to describe it.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

I've been showing you hints of this for a couple of weeks now, although it's been in the works longer than that. Wings hasn't had much studio time lately, but when he does, he kills it. This is Wings's latest, and I don't have the words to describe it.

It's an old-school collar necklace, an old traditional style that isn't done much anymore, save for squash blossom and naja necklaces. This one features five separate pendants on a 26" strand of beads, although it hangs substantially shorter than that because of the horizontal space taken up by the pendants themselves. It's a masterwork, and a major work, too, and it's hard to do it justice with words.

It's called Buffalo Sky, a reference to the shield cabochon of royal lapis at the very center, which looks to me like a buffalo's head, mane curling around it in Wings's freehand saw-work and stampwork bezel. The two turquoise ovals are natural Fox turquoise from Nevada, and the two squares are royal lapis — thin-cut, and backed with dried cedar to hold them securely in the bezel's embrace. All of the silversmithing is freehand, all extraordinary. The beads are a mix of giant spheres of lapis in chrysocolla to frame each pendant, with alternating small sections of either iron pyrite and sterling silver (the lapis) or high-grade turquoise, probably Persian, and sterling silver (the turquoise). All of these appear in the rest of the strand, along with ultra-high-grade royal lapis lazuli orbs, polished to such a sheen they appear deceptively translucent-looking, and with sterling silver rounds as anchors. It defies proper description, but you can read the whole thing here. Yes, it's four grand; you would not believe the materials costs, never mind the labor, and this one is a collector's item.

As always, Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales as we enter this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and there are many opportunities and occasions for gifts to come, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.