What kind of necklace is this?

Well, I've seen plenty... it could have been made yesterday. Others will have to tell us how far back it MIGHT go. The little mother-of-pearl birds and the beads are a very popular, wearable style. New they can be had for 10-15 dollars, as I recall. If your necklace is "vintage" or antique... some of our NA brainiacs can tell us.

 

I think the beads/disks are puka shell.

 

The beads are heishi shell,but can't tell if they are handmade or machine made.Have the "turquoise" been tested to see if they are stabilized?

 

Not puka shell, which would usually imply Hawaii, but they are shell.
These are heishi beads, made of shell, and also some turquoise. Heishi are a traditional craft of the Pueblo people from New Mexico, now also made by the Zuni; they are first strung, then ground into round shapes. Originally by hand, now often machine-assisted.
The birds are commonly called fetishes, and the necklace could be referred to as a fetish necklace.
However, import bead companies also make the birds and beads, so I'm not qualified to guess whether this is or is not native-made. But if I did hazard a guess, I'd note that it appears to be strung on sinew, and I'd guess it is native, Zuni or Pueblo, somewhere from the 1970s to today.
I bet others will have more accurate information.

See
http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa041.shtml
or
http://gosw.about.com/od/newmexicoartandshopping/a/heishijewelry.htm

 

OOOOOOH, I should have added that added that Southwest connection, Fakesie!
I would also say that I have direct knowledge that some Pueblo sellers actually buy little birds and such from Asia!

 

Yes.....and sometimes if a Native American buys imported beads or other items and assembles them into a necklace or such they feel it is appropriate to refer to the finished product as Native American.
It is perhaps an open question, whether all art made by Native Americans is Native American art.
One could add that any art can be judged by criteria such as quality, the amount of hand-work or machine-work involved; and if known, the name of the artist and who he trained/studied/apprenticed with can be considered.
And the degree to which it adheres or departs from tradition, I suppose.

 

I have an eyeglass chain sitting out on Ebay at the moment, made the same way. It's listed as Southwestern, because with this stuff it's hard to know who actually did it and where. The beads are now being made in China and imported. It could be real, could be a copy, and could be a really good kid at summer camp.

 

Thanks for the clarification on Puka/Heishi difference.

 

They are somewhat similar types of shell beads; the heishi are more even, due to the grinding after being strung.
Puka beads also have a long and interesting history; they were originally beach-found natural beads, formed by the action of the surf on cone shells, leaving a cone-shaped disc with a natural hole, which could be easily strung into necklaces.
Now of course puka and puka-style beads are also manufactured both in Hawaii and abroad.