my mother got this in the 70’s it does have some flaws one on the edge of the silver and others a bit on the surface… color between stones is close but not perfect and a few stones look cracked on the surface even though turquise is nearly undestructable as far as I know. Any idea of value and origin?
thanks so much.
I don’t believe your pictures uploaded. I’m not finding any. Would you please add the pictures so that we can see what you’re talking about? Also, Turquoise is actually a rather soft stone. The picture icon is seventh from the left and looks like a little box with a moon and a mountain in it. Click on that and add your pictures and make sure that they have completely uploaded before you push submit. Thanks look forward to seeing it.
The lack of any oxidation on this piece is concerning. You should have it tested for silver content.
this is who texted me.
I agree with @mmrogers on testing. The bench beads look correct. The squash blossoms look to have been soldered by a novice, are a bit crude, and I have reservations about the stones.
If it were me and the beads and naja turn out to be silver, I would cannibalize it and make a single strand necklace with the beads and naja. Some here will be horrified at my suggestion but there it is.
I do have a funny story about it as to how Im sure of the 70s …. my father was an orthodontist…. if you start treament even if you dont pay a DR cant stop treatment… this couple hadn’t paid for almost a year and were in the office with there two kids getting new arch wires… the couple were tribal leaders here… my dad reached over and just pulled the necklace off the womans chest…. he was an aweful person and those were the times then. I was in the 5th grade then and even I knew how wrong that was. I will have the silver tested but I have a bunch of silver coins same time period that look the same.
Not knowing all the details I can’t judge. However, IMO, as “leaders” I would have thought leading by example would have been in order, even if it were $5/week or other token amount or barter.
I’ve actually done similar to very damaged pieces, and have little guilt about it.
The turquoise in the blossoms does look questionable, and also needs to be looked at in person by an expert. They have whitish crackling throughout that looks like what glass does when stessed. The silver can be tested at home.
I thought of thermal shock as if the necklace were frozen then thawed with hot water.
