1960s belt buckle - stone identification

Identifying & Discovering
1

This is my father’s belt buckle that he purchased in Scottsdale in 1970. It was the gallery owner’s personal buckle and my father worked him for 3 days to buy it. :slightly_smiling_face:

Anyway, it was made by Navajo artist, Al Joe. Center stones are turquoise, coral, jet, and mother-of-pearl, but I’m having trouble with the two brown stones. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Tom

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2

It is difficult to see detail from the image, but I imagine something like ironwood. Cool story and buckle.

3

Thanks Jason! I never considered ironwood. Was ironwood commonly used in the 60s? Here are a couple of better photos.

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GkGIAkW.jpg1024×768 108 KB

4

I don’t know if it is commonly used, but used.

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