It was purchased like this and I was told Tommy Singer didn’t think it hurt it at all because it is such a lovely blue. Does that sound true?
If anyone knows the mine this stone is from that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your expertise,
In my opinion, I find it highly unlikely that “story” referring to the stone being damaged when the piece was created is credible. As a signed vintage Tommy Singer piece the value of the stone having a crack factors in aesthetically and somewhat from a grading standpoint to a collector of perfect pieces. However, I feel the main value is in the silversmith. As a stand alone stone it would need to be re-cabbed into several stones.
Yeah no, TS didn’t make the bolo with a crazed/cracked stone. For sure a smoke story. Can’t tell from this pic if it might be a craze rather than a crack, in which case it may hold together for a good while.
For a rare, antique NA piece ca. 1900-1920s, a cracked stone is tolerable to many collectors, even neutral price wise. But for a fairly modern piece, different story. It will eliminate a chunk of potential buyers and is definitely a negative. If given a choice between two identical items but one has a damaged stone, yes, it’ll have a pricing effect. You could try researching prices to see how TS’s work has fared with/without damage.
It looks like Kingman to me, and my first thought when I saw the stone, was that if it were mine I would remove the stone it and recut it into 3 separate cabochons for new settings, and replace it with a new stone cut to fit the bezel.
Singer would have purchased the stone, rather than cutting it himself, so replacing the stone with one of comparable quality will add rather than detract from the value. As it is, the broken stone is a big discount to the value of what looks like a very nicely made and original Tommy Singer bolo.
Steves Trail, chicfarmer and mmrogers,
Thank you all for your informative and valuable thoughts. Have to agree with everything stated.
mmrogers, thanks also for your id opinion.
I’d also like to say I’m very impressed with the level of expertise offered here. Awesome
I think this is a beautiful bolo. I agree with the others about the “story” of the stone, but I’m one of those people that would be thrilled to find something like this at a lower price because of a crack in the turquoise 
I have several pieces that have crack (or a craze like Chic mentioned) in the stones, and I’ve never had a problem with them.
Hi Ziacat, (love that moniker) Thanks for your thoughts. I agree. I’ve considered selling it but for what I might get for it, I rather hold on to it. It has such an amazing color of blue that when I look at it I can’t part with it. When it is in a drawer, I think about selling it. I appreciate your contribution.
