I looove this!!! Is it maybe a fur trade era piece? (Not sure if that’s correct term)
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Since you said First Nations, I’m assuming you believe this to be made by a Canadian First Nation artist? Any info on what area it came from?
With those tails, I’m thinking they are beavers?
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Oooh, that’s wild!
I love it.
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Once I manage to find who owns the hallmark I will be able to identify its origin. For the moment I am only assuming where it comes from. I hope someone knows something and can help me identify who made this.
I was just trying to clarify your statement about First Nations. I have occasionally heard people refer to Native Americans in the US as First Nations. This looks more Canadian to me, but that’s just a guess. I wasn’t sure what you information you had when you bought it.
I tried looking, and couldn’t find anything. It seems like most of the earlier fur trade items have HB (or HBC) for Hudson’s Bay Company. I couldn’t find anything with a D that had jewelry like this. Maybe it’s someone newer. I believe someone on here said that there is a Facebook group dealing with First Nations jewelry, but I might be wrong on that.
@chamekke, have you ever run across anything like this?
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I totally agree, I’ve seen beaver and otter pendants stamped Hudson Bay, but I have never seen a bracelet or anything similar to this one. But I’m going to keep searching, Thank you Ziacat!
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I’m a little bit ashamed of myself, because I’ve spent a lot of time in Canada, most of it in central and western Ontario, and I hadn’t really heard of fur trade jewelry, even though I’m very familiar with Hudson’s Bay Company and First Nations art from that area. It’s fascinating!
I think @newpawn has mentioned about going to pow wows and fur trade enactments (although I might be wrong on that); care to join in? Have you seen anything like this?
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Hi, no I have not. Which doesn’t mean a lot – my “First Nations silver” experience mostly runs to Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. This doesn’t look local to those areas, and I don’t know the “D” monogram. (I did take a peek in the book Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry for this mark, but I didn’t find it. That’s unsurprising, as the mark of silversmiths out here is usually their initials, etched by hand.)
This is a super-intriguing piece and I’d love to learn more about it! I’m guessing it’s supposed to represent beaver pelts?
And in case anyone isn’t familiar with the term, First Nations in Canada is basically equivalent to Native Americans in the United States. It refers specifically to the peoples who were historically known as “Indians”, in contradistinction to the Inuit and Métis peoples (Canada’s other two Indigenous groups).
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I hadn’t heard of fur trade jewellery either—and I’m Canadian! {hangs head} Did a bit of poking around and found this example on LiveAuctioneers. (Unrelated to the OP’s piece, obviously)
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I really like this bracelet & find it intriguing. I spent a fun hour researching beaver, otter, First Nations and fur trade jewelry. (I’ve never heard of fur trade jewelry before.) I came up with nothing even remotely similar to this bracelet. The jump ring & closure look handmade so that doesn’t help me with an age range, either. I’m now wondering if this could be a one-of-a-kind piece of personal jewelry made by a silversmith for his or herself? I also find it unusual that a hallmark would appear on the outer side of the jewelry. Perhaps it’s like an ID bracelet & the “D” stands for David or Diane. IDK. Just my (long) 2 cents worth on this topic.
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The initial “D” is so distinctive, and as you say it’s unusual to have a mark on the outside. Assuming for the moment that it is the jeweller’s mark and not the personalized initial of the owner… do you think the initial might actually be “SD”? I look at the left side of the D and it looks a lot like an “S”. Just to complicate matters…!
It is an absolutely fabulous bracelet, and I hope it’s possible to solve the mystery. It’s a great feeling when you can find out who made your creation.
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@chamekke Good eye! Yep, looking at the “D” initial again, I can see a possible stylized, fancy “S” on the left. I agree this deepens the mystery.
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not fur trade time frame;way too “cute”.
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So cute and unusual! I just learned a lot about a different type of native jewelry. 
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