Can we share our squash blossoms?

It is a deeper blue in person. Strange how it doesn’t capture the true color :pensive: you can see how the color changes in different light. Deep blue with quartz matrix the orange webbing and pyrite :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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@Grewdupskrewdup It’s really a stunning SB. The turquoise is amazing, and the size is quite decadent. My perfect dream Squash! Is that Kingman or Morenci or another mine?
I’m sure you hate it so, I’d be happy to take good care of it for you :wink:

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@Zephyr
Stunning SB! The color of that turquoise is dreamy.
Squash Blossoms are probably my favorite jewelry of all time. I’ve been going through this thread and drooling over everyones pieces! They are all so different, and special. I want all if them! I only have 6 full sized SB’s and none of them super spectacular but, I bought them because I couldn’t live without them at the time. Here’s 3 of mine that I wear regularly. Yep, I’m into claws.
The small one is Morenci and unsigned, and the others are Birdseye Kingman and the other is vintage Kingman.


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Clearly a focused collection. These aren’t squash blossom necklaces, but the claws on the bottom two seem to imply the naja shape. What do you know about the makers?

The 1st pictured is by McNeilley, the top one in the 2nd photo is unsigned and unstamped, and pretty old, and the 3rd one down is another McNeilley.
I’ll get photos of my other 3 in bright daylight tomorrow. I think McNeilley is anglo and the other 4 are Navajo. The McNeilleys are circa 1980 and the mystery one with Morenci stones I purchased about 20 years ago, and it was vintage at that point but, I have zero info on that one.

Now that you mention it, I was wondering if they would be considered SBs since there is no reference to the blossoms.
Yeah, I don’t know what to call these 3.

This one was my very 1st SB and my gateway into turquoise addiction. I have no idea who made it. The initials scratched into to naja have turned up nothing in endless searches. I bought it from a womon who inherited it, and had no idea what she had. She didn’t even test it for sterling but, I did and it was positive. So, I don’t know what stones were used, or exactly how old it is. For as thick as the metal is, she did a great job bending the fish tails. :smile: I’m hoping to find someone who can straighten those out. I don’t wear it much. It’s super heavy, and the fish have very sharp, pointy stringers that poke my chest but, I keep it because it was my 1st :slightly_smiling_face:

This poor baby was the one I used to wear all the time. One day, it broke while I was out, and I lost about 20 beads. I restrung it myself but it’s now missing the second line of beads down by the naja and 5 each on either side by the clasp. I need a pro to restring it and add the missing beads. It’s s Dry Creek turquoise, and circa 50’s or 60’s according to the sales person. I’ve had it forever. No identifying marks anywhere on it. Another mystery piece.


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Hi ~ First photo, I’m a bit confused about your description of the necklace. I just don’t see fish - are you talking about the squash blossoms? They’ve been bent? I see a few where the petals looks more closed than open. I believe the letters scratched on the reverse could be a price code used at a trading post.

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Yes, the squash blossoms are shaped as fish. So, I guess I should have said “fins”. There are a few that are bent pretty successfully. Lol

Could be a price code @Patina. It’s the only marking on the piece.

Why do you say it’s Dry Creek? Was it sold to you as such? If so, you were seriously misled, and I hope not overcharged on the basis of that attribution.

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On the previously posted necklace, what do you mean by wanting to “straighten those out” about the “fish tails”? (The blossoms aren’t meant to be fish.) The petals (the ends) are supposed to curl outward, not stick out straight.

Maybe this is a confusion of terminology.

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@chicfarmer Yes, it was sold to me as Dry Creek.
Which mine do you think it’s from?

I bought it decades ago and back then, NA jewelry was quite affordable so, I didn’t over pay. I didn’t even know what Dry Creek turquoise was. I just knew I liked it.

@chicfarmer No, they’ve been bent and damaged. Some are quite wonky. I suppose it’s hard to see in the photos.
Some are bent facing one way, and some, the other way. Trust me, it’s damage, not design.
I’ll get closeups tomorrow so that you can see what I’m talking about.

Dry Creek was first mined in the 1990s. The coloration and matrix are not like these, and it’s scarce/rare and costly.

@Ziacat, thoughts on the turquoise origin?

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Kingman?? :laughing: Honestly I don’t really have a guess. Somebody once posted something called Whitewater turquoise which I think is a Mexican mine, and it reminds me a little bit of that, but :person_shrugging: Definitely doesn’t look like Dry Creek to me either.

But when in doubt I always say Kingman, right? :grin:

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I guess it could be Whitewater. I purchased it in circa the late 90s/early 2000s but, if the seller is correct that it was made in the 60s/70s it can’t be either. Who knows anymore if the seller is being honest or is just confused. Now, I’m confused…

Generally turquoise mines are very difficult to figure out, and sellers say all kinds of stuff when they don’t really have proof. Just looking at turquoise, and guessing where it originated doesn’t mean it’s true. I have numerous pieces of turquoise I’ve asked for opinions on, and I feel like I’ve gotten good feedback, but I know none of it’s for sure. TBH, I mostly only trust stores with really good reputations, or artists who often buy the stones from these good stores or the mines directly. There are a few mines where the turquoise is pretty recognizable such as Dry Creek and Bisbee (although even those can be tricky), and there can be things like pyrite in the matrix which help you narrow it down, but any mine can put out a wide variety of colors and matrix.

And I wasn’t saying it was Whitewater; I just said it kinda looked like it. Who knows what it is. Kingman is the most common turquoise so that is often the default.

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Yeah, I hear ya!
I have a bunch of mystery turquoise where even the vendors didn’t know.

These stones in the SB are very pale. In looking at my photos they are probably a shade or 2 lighter. Maybe Kingman used to mine stones that look like these! Don’t know. I’m not even sure of the SBs age.

It’s now on my list of mystery NA jewelry.

This may be a long shot guess on type of turquoise. I am not trying to confuse or muddy the water. Just a thought. I have a ring with very similar looking turquoise to the turquoise in your “Dry Creek” SB. My similar looking turquoise ring was sold to me as Cripple Creek mined turquoise. Cripple Creek is in Colorado and has greenish to teal to light teal turquoise. My Cripple Creek ring has tiny similar pale whitish swirls to what I can see in some of your SB stones. Since both Dry Creek and Cripple Creek have ‘creek’ in the name, the thought hit my brain that maybe the seller got them confused?

Edited to add : I will post a pic of my ring when I get home from traveling and some links to Cripple Creek turquoise.

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