Jolene Eustace (Cochiti/Zuni) 18k/14k/sterling Carved Turquoise, coral, and shell necklace. Jolene is an extremely talented artisan, the galleries that carried her work seem to be mostly out of stock. I believe she has always been quality over quantity, producing a very limited amount of jewelry as you can tell she invests a lot more time/skill/money into her pieces than a large percentage of todays Native American artisans'. Amazing piece as shown. Bottom piece has 18k, 14k, and sterling(marked and tested), two side pieces 14k and sterling. Approximately 17" total length, 144.6 grams total weight.

Jolene A. Eustace-Hanelt is respected as a master jeweler. She comes from a family of jewelers and potters. She grew up helping her parents. In a cover story for Indian Artist Magazine, Jolene shared: "I was eight when I made my first piece. I got an order to do 100 tie tacks...That was over 100 bucks." She bought a 10 speed bike with the money. She added, "Then I realized I could be self-sufficient with my work as an artist...My work is my release. My work is my meditation. It's a way of going back to Mother Earth." (Zuni/Cochiti, active 1985=-present: contemporary, gold, silver leaf, set stones jewelry, alabaster sculptures)

(A note from Keishi Jewelers a retailer of her wearable art) Sharing our Keshi "Jolene" story: Jolene is (obviously) quite a beautiful woman, and the staff of Keshi commonly referred to her as "the jewelry dess." One day, someone fessed up and told Jolene what she'd been nicknamed, and her reply was "I'm not the jewelry dess, I MAKE jewelry FOR desses!" That response certainly endeared her to us even more!

Jolene is a daughter of well-known artists Ben and Felicita Eustace. Ben, from Zuni, was a jeweler who, in turn taught his Cochiti wife Felicita the art of jewelry making. Felicita is also a potter, specializing in traditionally made storytellers. The Eustaces passed their demand for quality on to their 13 children, including Jolene.

Jolene was educated at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She learned jewelry making from her parents and Hopi jeweler Duane Maktima. She has been fabricating jewelry since the mid-80s.

Always seeking challenges, Jolene relocated to Essen, Germany in the mid-1990s with her German-born former husband and infant son. Several times a week, she commuted by train between her home and Europe’s renowned art school, the Künstakadamie, in Düsseldorf. There she studied frawing and painting. Jolene is a recipient of a fellowship from the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and has worked with SWAIA’s mentor program, teaching jewelry techniques to Native students.

Jolene’s jewelry is characterized by the quality of materials and its striking individuality. She says, “Whoever said you have to play by the rules? I want my jewelry to say something. It cannot be just jewelry. In my jewelry, design and fabrication have to deal with personal experiences and traditional values conflicting and collaborating with present society.”

Jolene’s parents once said to their children, “If you’re going to do jewelry at tall, you have to do it our way, the right way.” It wasn’t the designs they were talking about, it was the technical aspects of their work: setting stones, welds, and engravings. From the time of their training, the Eustace kids learned a respect for materials and techniques of their art.

Jolene’s hallmark is a stamped “JAE” and a trademark design which represents sage that was designed by her Dad long ago.

Tribal Affiliation
Cochiti/Zuni

All precious metals are tested and guaranteed, any Native American jewelry referred to as Silver or Sterling is guaranteed to be a minimum of 90% (coin) silver and possibly higher content. Anything marked is guaranteed to be what it's marked, most bracelets are photographed on a 6" wrist (non hairy), rings photographed on the appropriate sized finger when possible. With bracelets if the measurement is not given in the description then inside circumference is shown where the metal meets the number on the the cloth tape measure.