A silversmith and Santa Fe resident for over 35 years, John Rippel brings us his interpretation of the Santa Fe look. The Santa Fe sterling silver buckle set is designed with conch ridges and rope edge detail. Conch ridges were first introduced to the land locked Southwest in early Hohokam pieces where shells, traded with tribes on the coast, were decorated with turquoise mosaic held on with pine pitch and worn on a thong around the neck. Traditional Concho belts were so named for the shell motif which has been around for centuries. At home on the range or on the town, this 1″ buckle looks great on one of our exotic leather straps.
