I’m stumped about this cuff: to me, it looks like it was made by someone learning silversmithing. What do you think about its age, stones, workmanship, why the darkened area is so crusty looking? I don’t think it’s a valuable piece, but I’m so curious as to what you think. I bought it about 5 yrs ago along with a few other pieces from someone closing her jewelry store in Truth or Consequences NM. But, she didn’t tell me anything about any of them and I didn’t know enough then to ask good questions.
The oxidized areas look “crusty” because it looks like they have pools of solder that were not cleaned up. I would gently clean the dirty off, but try not to remove any of patina otherwise the unsightly solder mess will be distracting.
I can’t say for sure that the bracelet is definitely NA but it is a great contemporary piece @Bluwater . You could check with someone like Perry Null on having the solder pools buffed out and the inside re-patinated if it bothers you.
My 2nd cuff from the same source: I’ve tried to find turquoise that looks like same dark teal with pyrite that is in this cuff. Is it foreign turquoise? Although it appears beautiful made, there are no stamps of any kind on the underside, so I’m wondering if it was Native American made. What are your thought’s?
@Bluwater My thoughts: That’s a gorgeous cuff & turquoise stones!! To me, it looks NA made. I have a ring that’s teal Kingman turquoise though my cab doesn’t have any pyrite in it. My guess is that your turquoise may be teal Kingman.
Oooo I like those stones! They remind me of my mom’s old earrings that she bought in the 40’s that fell apart (trying to figure out what to do with them). I posted them on here in the past, and the thought was they might be Fox. Don’t know about yours, but they remind me of mine!
What a great old cuff! Certainly looks NA, and the deep aqua turquoise is delicious! I’m thinking older Morenci or Kingman mostly because of the pyrite. I have a Morenci ring that is darker greenish turquoise, but not this deep teal color. Really nice!
Rethinking that first cuff @Bluwater . I think the imperfections should be retained. I’m a bit of a purist and they add character to the piece. You can almost envision the silversmith using simpler tools to create the cuff.
I know most NA jewelry today is made to the highest degree of flawless silversmithing perfection that is evidently more in “fashion” today, but I prefer the older items with more of a hand made look. Just my opinion.
About your 2nd cuff - Here’s my teal Kingman turquoise ring. No pyrite but it does seem to have host rock visible. (Doesn’t appear to be quartz which is another inclusion that can be found in Kingman turquoise.) Morenci turquoise was mentioned by @Bmpdvm. This got me thinking. I’ve seen turquoise cabs listed as “Morenci 2” or “Morenci II”. This is turquoise from Mexico and is often heavily included with pyrite. Another Mexican turquoise is “Nacozari” which can also have lots of pyrite inclusions. Just 2 other turquoises to check into. (My ring is hallmarked for Running Bear Shop.)
Nice ring @Patina! I really haven’t seen much (that I recall) of this intense teal turquoise. I guess I’d expect it to be older turquoise that has darkened from handling over the years. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. And thanks for the Mexican “Morenci” turquoise with pyrite information . I haven’t heard of that, but am not surprised…we’re a bit short sided to try to attribute unknown turquoise to US mines😊.
I agree, It doesn’t appear to be darker due to time and wear: instead the color is vibrant with a beautiful shine. I’m going to look into the Morenci II (2) and report back.
I like the way you think! Having heard from you and others, I’m going to keep it the way it is, because I like it too! I always think about who the artist was and what was happening in the making of this piece.
My #3 cuff is too hard to decide on, so here are my finale 3. There are no stamps or hallmarks on the undersides. The far right cuff looks and feels like soft & untreated turquoise, maybe Dry Creek? When was this flower like pattern in the surrounding Sterling Silver most popular? The middle cuff I think is quite old because of the silver flakes decorating the top around the turquoise, and due to the shape of the entire plate on top (what do you call that?). Any idea on the ages, turquoise mines, quality & guesses at value are welcome. After 10 years of collecting, I’m going to try to sell these.
My understanding is that Dry Creek turquoise is mostly naturally hard, so I’m going to guess that your big stone is probably Kingman, not Dry Creek. I have a ring that is natural Kingman (I have a pawn ticket stating it’s Kingman), which was very light when I first got it; so much so that occasionally even shop owners out west thought it was Dry Creek. I wore it a lot, and then it changed color - now it’s much more blue.
This cuff looks Navajo to me. I have quite a few native pieces which are unsigned, but I bought them from trustworthy stores who told me they were native made.
The middle cuff, with the big plate and what you call silver flakes, looks like hippie work more so than NA made, though it’s not possible to know that. The decoration of amorphous applique shapes isn’t Navajo in feel, which inclines me to think it’s hobbyist effort. Agewise I’d guess it’s from 1960s-1980, hence not old by the standard of NA jewelry.
Not everyone is aware of how much Anglo/non-Native artisan jewelry was made in response to NA jewelry’s boom of appeal. There was a very influential, widely sold book for makers that aimed to teach the techniques and styles. https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Silversmithing-W-Ben-Hunt/dp/0020116802
