The buffalo horn is first made as smooth as possible with a rough sand paper and then gradually sanded smoother to a mat finish. It is then that I draw a design with a pencil and the carve the design or carve around the design depending on the image I want to produce. The channels I carve are then inlaid with crushed stones and shells and mixed with a resin. The design is then sanded again until flush with the horn and then polished for a short time on a buffing wheel until it has a very high gloss finish.
The colors come from many different earth colors. White is made from Mother of Pearl. Light yellow is made from a sandstone. Bright yellow is Gold Mother of Pearl. Red is from Coral. Blue is made from Lapis. Green comes from Malachite. Dark Red is made from a sandstone that comes from the Great Race Track that runs around the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is said that the buffalo horn cap is where the buffalo spirit lives and that spirit has great power. People who are drawn to our buffalo horn pieces have said that they can feel that power. It is not a like any other jewelry you have ever seen before. It has a natural beauty that all things from nature possess. Even customers that have come to us dripping with gold and silver jewelry have confessed that there is a special feeling that they have gotten from wearing this very unique material.