Hello everybody! I purchased this last summer at the Gallup Flea. The seller told me it was Bisbee. The artist is Robert Johnson - but there is no mark on the necklace identifying it as such. I just have the card I was given. But what do you think? Does it look like Bisbee? Bisbee isn’t my favorite type of turquoise but I couldn’t pass this up!
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I like the turquoise! It’s very difficult to identify the type of turquoise, although the deep blue is typical of Bisbee (and other types of turquoise). I’m not saying this is not Bisbee, but I’m always skeptical of turquoise identification unless I buy it from the artist. Also, Bisbee is pretty pricey turquoise to be used in a disc necklace with a low end clasp, being sold at a flea market. Regardless it’s a nice heavy turquoise disc necklace…enjoy!
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The clasp point is interesting and occurred to me too, but it seems this is the type of clasp this artist uses on all of their jewelry. 
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I’m not saying it’s not by Robert Johnson, but if you Google him, he doesn’t seem to make this kind of jewelry. He’s a silversmith. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have done something different. I met him at the Eiteljorg Indian Art Market last year, and didn’t see anything like this. I bought a pair of his earrings from another member of this forum. Here’s a bio of him and his work https://www.bischoffsgallery.com/online-store/robert-johnson.htm
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I agree @Ziacat, he’s a known silversmith…I thought the same thing. But I guess he could have branched out a bit😊.
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But it is beautiful blue turquoise. I have seen Kingman that blue.
Number one, what do you know about the seller? This is absolutely key to knowing what you may have. If you don’t know this person nor their credibility, it’s a total guess. Anyone can lay any business card in a box and claim the piece is by that artist–but that is not provenance.
Nearly nobody hand-makes beads of Bisbee…that’s one thing. A couple high-end makers is about the universe.
If the art form is wrong for this artist, this is a problem.
If it wasn’t several thousand dollars, this is a problem.
And if it was several thousand but you don’t know the seller’s sourcing, and Johnson doesn’t make bead necklaces (apparently the case), that could be a very sorry transaction.
You could contact Robert Johnson directly and ask him about this. I hope you enjoy the necklace in any case.
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I agree with @chicfarmer: if you’re buying beads that are supposed to be Bisbee, expect to pay a premium, and if you are paying a premium insist on provenance to match. If you’re not paying $$$, chances are high it’s not Bisbee. The fact that this was purchased at the Gallup flea, and that the alleged artist doesn’t normally work in this style, are red flags.
The beads also don’t look like Bisbee to me. This is a photo of Bisbee beads by renowned Hopi bead maker Piki Wadsworth, taken from her Instagram account:
The deep colors, color variation, and prominent matrix are typical of Bisbee beads.
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Well, I guess I could have just done this in the first place, but I messaged him on Instagram and he said that he did make it so I guess I solved that mystery! He said he made several of those types of necklaces last summer. Also, on one of his Instagram videos there was a video showing jewelry he had at a sale and there was a beaded necklace in that video alongside his standard silverwork.
I am pretty sure the person at the booth was a family member of his. When I asked Robert about the turquoise, he said that if he remembers right it was actually Kingman. The family member at the booth definitely said Bisbee, but I think they may have just been mistaken.
The good thing is that what I paid was a fair price for the necklace (even a Kingman one) so that’s not so bad.
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That’s great news! And Kingman is still beautiful turquoise. Thanks for the update.
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Great update! Good to know that it’s by him.
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