I was in another antique mall today and I saw this interesting belt. Is the price right for this belt? I really liked it. It appears to be dated 1974, G.E.L.
The leather looked original, but the buckle attachment was weird. It would need a bit of rehab. The buckle never had a cross bar, apparently. There are 10 conchos plus the buckle. It really matches @Ziacat ‘s bracelet and ring from Reggie M. and Milford C.
The prices were pretty steep in this case below. The tag is backwards, but I can see the child’s Harvey style bracelet was $200. I can only imagine what they wanted for that large concho.
This is the most important thing, I feel. It’s a beautiful belt!
To me, it looks as it should for a belt of its age. As you well know, by the 70’s, the commercially available swivel bar was being used en masse.
I’ve come across many cast buckles crafted in this manner, that are designed similarly to a center bar buckle, but with a swivel bar attachment instead…
Even with the large amount of openwork, there’s still a substantial amount of silver there. Taking everything into consideration…you like it, I’m sure it would fit you (so that negates any kind of leather debacle), and if you can swing it, my opinion would be to go for it. You would rock that thing, @Stracci!
Some of this stuff looks pretty old. Especially the $400 set of buttons, and the ones directly above the child’s bracelet. The small buckle that’s missing a prong looks to have some age, as well.
One would like to think not too terribly much, unless the vendor is attempting to pull the wool over someone’s eyes. It looks to me to be a First Phase Revival concho, with it’s soldered copper keeper. The chevron shaped stampwork is very common on 40’s and 50’s buckles and conchos. Just like this one…
Concerning the antique mall buckle that you shared, the four (what appear to be) repoussé elements look incredibly deep. I’d love to see close up photos of that one!
We’ve all got a great deal to learn! Especially when it comes to this subject, if I don’t either see something I’ve never seen, or learn something new every day, I’m frustrated with myself when I lay my head down.
Wow, a perfect fit! I was just typing a message concerning how heavy it looked. The castings look thick.
This is awfully nice of you, but please don’t go out of your way!
Knowing you may very well be on the trail to your first concho belt is exciting! I can imagine how well that belt would go with all of the beautiful jewelry you’ve crafted……What a perfect addition to How do we combine and wear our Native American bling ! You wearing that belt and modeling the bling you’ve made!
Using a leather thong to tie the leather back to itself and secure the buckle is how it was done on the early belts, as rivets weren’t available, nor utilized, until much later. On the Second Phase belt I worked on, that’s precisely how the leather was secured originally, and how I went about finishing that project. I really didn’t want to use modern hardware.
The only thing about the belt you’ve shared that looks off is that knot. If the leather is original, it wasn’t worn much, as there doesn’t appear to be much wear or “flattening out” of that knot at the connection point.
This would be a super easy fix with a couple of properly sized Chicago screws. The buckle would lay much flatter, as well.
Beautiful belt, Stracci! Aaron provided some great information already and he is correct regarding the use of a center bar/prong vs. a swivel bar/post. It is common to see a buckle with the same cast pattern utilizing one or the other. The findings are attached at the end, so I think it is simply a matter of the maker’s preference.
Considering the asking price of the belt below, I’d say the one you’re looking at is a bargain.
It’s a beautiful belt!
…What a perfect addition to 
