Here is a presumed Charles Loloma bracelet coming up for auction. To me these stones look to be mounted in epoxy, not set. Is this the kind of work he did?
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It was actually a rhetoric question. I’m sure I will offend here but I tend to be a realist with a science and engineering background (and don’t drink kool aid). Are famous artists famous due to being popularized by big money people? An example is the guy that silkscreened soup cans. I just find it hard to believe $15 grand for glued on stones if that is the case. @Stracci does much finer silversmithing.
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Non-rhetorically, Loloma is famous for his masterful design and skills, honed by both indigenous and local inspiration and engagement with the broader world of arts including international travel and study. His work has famously been faked, including the hallmarking. Without provenance any potential buyer is at risk.
Also, one has to know what the work of a given era in an artist’s output should look like, quality wise. Some artists even of high caliber turn out bad things at some point, and it’s up to the informed person to distinguish the dreck from quality.
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Thanks for the great compliment,@StevesTrail!
I am no Loloma expert by any means. Without miles of paperwork and authentication, I would never make a purchase like this. It does look like sloppy work, but only an expert could say for sure if this is Loloma’s work.
The cuff in question looks very similar to this one below, of which Steve showed a detail in the post above. Check out the provenance, as was pointed out by Steve. I highlighted in pink.
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I like your take on this. You make excellent points.
Another idea. Could someone have modified the original by adding stones.
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That’s another good point: “provenance”. I’ve seen “expert” and major high end collectors make mistakes. In addition to just being from a collection, a chain of custody, published photos, original receipts, comparisons to known works, etc. might be needed for proper authentication.
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I have a 14k brooch stamped Cartier.
When I found it in a thrift store, I was over the moon. But I’m convinced that it is not Cartier. Just because it is stamped as such, the quality is just not there, and Cartier always worked in 18k. So fakes abound.
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Here is a presumed Loloma for sale at one of my favorite places, Twin Rocks. I do notice that I don’t see glue between the stones. I am assuming they have provenance (because they seem to cover their bases in general), but I don’t know.
I mentioned this before, but when we were at Lema’s Gallery in Moab, the owner (after everyone else had left) got a Loloma ring out of his safe, and let us look at it. But it was 14 karat gold with Lander Blue (according to him). He said he’d been offered 60,000 for it, but he did not want to sell. I am no expert regarding the artist, but it was fabulous. I didn’t take a picture.
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I’m not bringing anything of value to the table, but this piece that you just shared, Zia, is awesome!
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If TR had it when we were there I would have looked at it, but they got it this past summer. They also have a Loloma cuff on their site.
You should have seen the ring at Lema’s; it was amaaaazing. The owner there was the gentleman that helped me figure out my buckle.
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This is the cuff on their site, and again I don’t see epoxy oozing out between the stones (I snapped a pic for posterity since they disappear 
).
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The style is known as “Ear of Corn” inlay (made wildly popular by Loloma’s work in the early 70s). Stones are cut as rectangles or squares with a pillowy bevel on the top surfaces, and slightly undercut below the centerline on the lower portion of the stone so that they fit together precisely side by side, or arranged side by side, in rows, with epoxy or superglue used to affix the stones within the setting channel. I learned the technique from Gallup lapidarist and silversmith Jana Mitchell in ‘74, and later taught it when I worked in production management for the trading company I worked for at the time. You definitely need a tough durable adhesive like epoxy to pull it off.
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To me it looks like the stones in the upper image may have come out at some point, and been glued back in by a 3rd party. The gunk around the stones in the lower image looks like it may be collected crud, and polishing residue from ~50 years of handling, etc. Loloma’s work in old photos is typically clean and pristine, with no visible adhesive or gunk between the stones on the upper surfaces.
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It certainly could have had some repair at some point. Not saying that it did, but it has to be considered.
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Between @mmrogers “ear of corn” inlay description and looking at this collection, I have more reservations about the one coming up for auction.
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I realize that I’m looking only at photos, and I haven’t seen authenticated Loloma jewelry in person but, these pieces from the Basha collection are works of immense superior quality, imo. You can see it. The cuff coming up for auction doesn’t match that caliber, imo.
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Could you take a photo of the hallmarks on your “Cartier” piece.
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that signature on the auction cuff should serve as the 1st red flag
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