Santo Domingo Jewelry
Handcut & Strung Traditional Bead Necklace with Damele Turquoise & Spiny Oyster
38" long
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The other day Ray Lovato, one of our favorite artists, stopped by and said he needed a little spending money for the grandbabies. At that point he retrieved this unusual Damele necklace from his worn leather bag that is decades old...
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...After much discussion about what the grandkids needed and how rare the piece is, we made the deal. Afterwards we were both happy. Ray is always a pleasure, and always has great, museum quality, necklaces.
Damele Turquoise:
Damele turquoise jewelry has become highly collectible mainly due to the character and interest found in this wonderfully distinctive turquoise which is very hard, and visually appealing. Damele turquoise forms in veins and occasionally as nuggets in carbonaceous chert and also diatomaceous earth. Stones from this mine range in color from pure lime-green through bright chartreuse; yellow with black webbing; white; orange and brown; a caramel color turquoise with bright green polka dots, and small black nuggets with bright yellow-green bumps poking out of the black matrix. Typically the turquoise contains black, brown, or tan matrix but Damele turquoise itself is not typical by any standard.
A small, tightly run operation, the Damele mine is located thirty miles east of Austin, Nevada. The mine is located on The Dry Creek Ranch owned by the Damele family. There, they raise unique horses that carry the Damele name. Benny Damele discovered the mine sometime around 1973. Soon thereafter, Clyde Wright became involved in mining the claim and worked it for approximately eighteen years. Tony Cotner, an excellent miner, merchandiser and truly colorful character, has owned the claim since 1990 when he bought it from Benny Damele. Mr. Cotner, also known as"Mean Green", states there is an ancient subtropical zone located beneath the mine that may be responsible for the unusual colors associated with Damele turquoise although he is unsure whether the organic environment has anything to do with the coloration.
Since Damele turquoise is mined by a character and handled by characters at Twin Rocks Trading Post, it is only natural that we prefer stones chockful of character as well. The next time you are traveling down U.S. Highway 191 in southern Utah, make sure you stop in and visit our cast of characters. We believe you will greatly enjoy the experience.
Ray never travels alone, there is always a large assemblage of family around him, and to him everyone seems to be family. We suspect that when Ray is loading the car for a selling trip, anyone in the village wanting or needing a vacation shows up at his door with their bags packed. We are reasonably sure that everyone is welcome. The most common passengers are Ray's daughter and her son River. We have attempted to barter for River from time to time, but have yet to strike a deal. Ray is extremely fond of him, and Kira and Grange (Steve's red-headed offspring) may both be on their way to Santa Domingo if River remains.
Ray's vehicles are mostly of the well used variety, and it doesn't seem to bother him that he may be walking across the vast, open spaces of the desert Southwest at any moment if the car collapses. Knowing Ray, it wouldn't take him long to scrounge up a ride for the whole troupe. In fact, over the twenty-five years we have known Ray, there have been many stories which include long walks. The stories always end with the car being patched up and the selling trip continuing.
The creative side of this outgoing, gregarious Puebloan is as wonderful as his humorous side. Ray has won more awards for his art than any other Santa Domingo artist we know. This is saying a great deal, since we have been selling Indian art since the late 1969, when we were ten and eleven respectively. When the topic of high quality, natural turquoise bead necklaces and earrings is brought up, Ray Lovato is always mentioned. He has won awards at such prestigious shows as the Santa Fe Indian Market, the Gallup Ceremonials and the Eight Northern Pueblos. Very few of his counterparts use the quality of materials and pay attention to the detail the way Ray does.
The kicker, and in our eyes, the greatest reason for Ray's marketing success is that when he arrives at our door, he first presents gifts. There are always presents of homemade tamales, traditional bread or blue corn cookies. We are especially susceptible to the blue corn cookies, and our stomachs always swell when they arrive. We love them, we fight over them as a matter of fact. This gentle soul with laughing eyes sits back and lets his generous bounty do it's intended work. In addition to the food, Ray also brings his carefully crafted masterworks to entice us. Ray Lovato is the master of his world, a master craftsman, master baker, master of humor and master in the art of salesmanship. "Hurry back Ray - we’re out of cookies!"
