Not much turquoise to see here. Mostly agate & jasper (which I really like). Most turquoise bolas tend to be out of my price range. My pride & joy is the Zuni inlay cardinal bola hallmarked “J-I.Livingston” (Jake & Irene Livingston). This is my only Native American made bola tie. I purchased it while on vacation several years ago. I paid $68.00 for it. From what I can gather, their bola ties can sell for very high prices.
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Well, I see a big ol’ hunk a turquoise on the top left picture 
What a great collection with all the different stones. And I love your cardinal bolo; I love cardinals. We have several pairs that hang out around our yard.
So I’m not particularly good with other rocks. I do have a Jasper ring, which I love. Are the bottom three agate? I think people hunt for agates around Lakes Superior, but I wouldn’t know one in the rough, unless it jumped up and smacked me upside my head. Also, what is the blue one in the second row? That’s beautiful too.
I don’t own any, but I think I’d like to get one sometime. My dad had a couple Native American bolos, but when my mom passed and I was figuring out how much of the jewelry to keep and what to give away (family let me decide since I’m the one that loves it), I gave them to my grand nephews who live in CO. They love rocks, and are learning to appreciate Native American history and art thanks to their father who is a park superintendent.
Thanks for sharing these!
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@Ziacat Thanks! The blue stone, in the 2nd row, is shattuckite. That stone is soooo pretty. In the bottom photo, the center bola is rhodochrosite. The other 2 bolas are agates. Cardinals were my mother’s favorite bird and that makes this bola tie extra special to me.
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It is beautiful! I had never heard of shattuckite or rhodochrosite till I joined this forum. So are the others in the row with the shattuckite all jasper?
Cardinals were one of my mom’s favorite birds also; she was quite the bird watcher, and I kind of inherited that from her. So wonderful you have that bolo.
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@Ziacat The 1st bola tie in that row is Crayola jasper. I believe that comes from NV. The middle bola - I have no clue as to what that stone is. The last 2 bolas, in that row, are Biggs jasper (or maybe Deschutes jasper). Those two types of jasper look similar to me.
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Beautiful Bolas. Don’t know if Jake Livingston is still around but I knew him back in the 70’s and 80’s. Always thought Jake was Navajo, but I believe he mentioned once that he’s 1/2 Zuni. Tall lanky soft spoken cowboy, and an incredibly talented silversmith. He was the first silversmith I know of in Gallup who made reversible inlay pendants. If memory serves one of his most popular designs was a reversible pendant with a cardinal on one side and a blue jay or hummingbird on other.
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@Patina, what a beautiful rainbow of bola ties! The cardinal one is exquisite. (Cardinals are such gorgeous birds; I miss them now I’m living on the “wrong” side of the Rockies.) Also, the two with the blue stones – turquoise with the feather, and that electric blue squarish piece in the second photo – shattuckite, you say? Yowza! Both are reminding me that I love blue as much as green. And the yellow-olive one immediately to the right of the electric blue is really sweet, also.
I’ve never in my life worn a bola/bolo tie – this is making me reconsider that. Do you wear these? That cardinal in particular is fairly begging to be worn, I think. Just fantastic workmanship.
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@mmrogers Thank you so much for sharing your personal knowledge of Mr. Livingston. Much appreciated. I’m delighted that a member of this forum knew the artist who made a piece of jewelry in my collection!
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@chamekke Thanks! Yes, I do wear some of these bola ties. I don’t wear bolas in the traditional manner - drawn close-up to the neck. I wear mine more loosely with the bola tie pulled down about 5" from the bottom of my neck. Usually worn with a buttoned down shirt or a plain, colored t-shirt.
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It’s amazing there are so many different kinds of jasper; and what a fun name, Crayola jasper. The two on the right look like paintings of the inside of slot canyons, like the Narrows in Zion.
If I had a bolo, I would wear it like you said. I’ve seen some worn over t-shirts on the Britwest site, and I love that.
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@Patina that sounds like an attractive way to wear your bola ties! If I ever own one I’ll probably do the same.
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Love your picture/landscape jasper and nice rhodochrosite stones
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