I saw a pendant like this when I was visiting my son and his family last month. It had plain prongs rather than the figural ones on my pendant and there was no necklace. The price was out of my range so it stayed there. After I got home, I found this one online at about 1/3 of the price of the other. It weights 118g, the pendant is approximately 2 5/8” in diameter, the necklace is about 19” and the beads are 6-7cm. I don’t know much about Charles Johnson other than he is Navajo and I love this set.
My question is what is a realistic price for the piece?
I generally use eBay’s sold listing to get an idea of what’s selling and for how much. Here is how to find the sold listings
Did find a pendant like yours listed on ebay today here
I don’t value items at asking prices more at what they sell for.
Your piece is made of Denim Lapis which is not High Grade Lapis although some prefer the Denim. Like always it is personal preference. Dark blue clear stones without inclusions or the same dark blue with gold specks is high grade lapis. Here is a Higher Grade single stone modern style set sold for a good amount and the listing included a short bio on maker
found here…
http://www.twodogssouthwestgallery.com/native-american-jewelry/Charles-Johnson-Phoenix-Firebird-Necklace-and-Earrings/
Here is a stone necklace that sold for $200 and although it sold in 2013 I think this is a good estimate on what yours is worth. As always, artist values can go up depending on what’s collectable at the time. You may want research if his Brand/Name is thing right now : )
http://www.twodogssouthwestgallery.com/native-american-jewelry/Charles-Johnson-Phoenix-Firebird-Necklace-and-Earrings/
Thanks for checking it out. I have been using eBay sold as reference for a long time. It tends to be fairly accurate. The current listing for the pendant like mine is the one I held in St Louis. He has come down on the price. It was originally $800.
I have sold on eBay as well as other sites over the years. Now I mostly collect and enjoy. My favorite it Native American. Sometimes it’s about the stone, sometimes the silver work—it’s all about what talks to me. The pendant appealed to me so much that it didn’t matter that the Lapis was denim. (I own pieces of both). I also have “real” jewelry. My best find to date is a 50 carat indicolite (blue tourmaline) in 18k that I paid $161.00 for that appraised at $5900.00. But even on here are several things I’ve gotten lucky on. There is a Tommy Singer bolo posted a couple of months ago. Found out when I posted that one of the other bidders has been Christibo. I won the auction and was flabbergasted when it arrived. There were no dimensions and we were expecting a normal bolo. It’s more like a breastplate.
I didn’t mean to get so carried away. Just wanted to let you know that I’m not a complete novice. Mostly self taught but with help from people like you and the others I’ve come to know on the internet.
The main reason I get second opinions is because most of the people on here are actively selling. The are so many inaccurate listings on the market that it’s hard to believe. And I think a lot of those people pull prices out of their rear—either exorbitantly high or ridiculously low. Thanks again
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Love the lots of info in your reply. I also try to include complete info for what I find for all to take from. The long term resale value for mass produced items are bound to be lower than say for original high grade pieces. I’m guessing this is a collectable Artist right now and he does nice work.
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