Crucita Tenorio turquoise, coral, oyster shell necklace

Hello fellow turquoise lovers! I have a necklace that has been tagged with a price and “Crucita Tenorio.” I believe my mother bought it in New Mexico, perhaps in the 1990’s? The main things I’m interested in knowing are:

  1. How can I tell whether this is hand cut turquoise or not?
  2. Is Ms Tenorio deceased? Googling shows me Crucita G Tenorio was born in 1929 died in 2013 at age 84, but a Crucita N Tenorio, born in 1916 is still alive.
  3. Any estimate as to value?

Thanking you for any help you can give me!

Hello, thank you for sharing. I am not sure about whether this artist is living or deceased, but she is from the Santo Domingo Pueblo north of Albquerque. She would have cut the pieces into small squares and drilled a hole in the center. Then the turquoise is strung on a wire and she uses a grinder. We don’t see many turquoise necklaces like this, but would imagine something like this would be $400 - $500 in today’s market. Hope this helps.

Jason

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Thank you so much, Jason! I’m just seeing your response!