Kingman Turquoise Pendant

Product Details

• Sterling Silver -oxidized
• High grade Kingman Turquoise
• Size: 2.5″ x 2”
• Hallmark J. Piaso Jr. inside feather
• Navajo

The Kingman turquoise mine is located about 14 miles Northwest of Kingman, AZ. It was first mined by the Hohokam Indians, 1,400 years ago. It is one of 3 sites of prehistoric mining located in the state of Arizona and this was the most extensively worked of the three. This mine began to be commercially worked in the 1880s as a copper mine. It produces a wide variety of colors of turquoise from pure blue to green with a brown or black matrix.

Handmade By Joe Piaso Jr

Joe Piaso Jr. was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on December 10, 1957. He was raised on the Navajo reservation by his grandfather in Canoncito, New Mexico. As a small boy, Joe watched his grandfather make jewelry and this is what first sparked his interest in the art. By the age of thirteen, Joe became skilled enough to make and sell his own jewelry. Joe now continues on into his third decade of silversmith with his son, Lyle, working next to him to carry on the tradition.