Hello everyone! I’m wondering if anyone might be able to give me some information on a choker necklace I came across. There is a hallmark on the back. Navajo? Zuni? 1970s?
Thank you in advance for your expertise!
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These look like imported inlay insets to me, very common in the 70’s. They were made overseas, usually from block materials, and designed to look like Zuni inlay. They could be purchased from supply stores and then set in jewelry by Native (or not) silversmiths. My guess would be this is Navajo made with pre-made insets, 1970’s.
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Thank you so much for your input. Something seemed a little off to me but I couldn’t put my finger on it. And I wasn’t getting a good vibe off of it…that explains why. I never knew those were imported. How could you tell? Was it the evenness of the colors that give it away?
all 5 birds have the same orientation. the 2 on the right in your picture are upside down 
that would qualify in my book as being a little off 
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If you look at enough jewelry of this age, you will see these exact same bird profile inlay cabs over and over again, all with different setting by different makers, with slightly varying colored birds. we’re talking thousands. There is a lot of truly amazing inlay out there, but once you know what to look for, these will stand out as obvious mass-produced cabs. Lots of NA makers used them, which is fine, but the cabs themselves are imports.
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Yes, like Jemez22 said, if you look at enough jewelry you will see these exact same cabs as well as slight variations on them over and over. The inlay lacks the depth and detail of Zuni inlay. Also, the stones are monochromatic, you can especially tell with the turquoise here that it looks like plastic.
I’m not seeing the two on the right being upside down. ???
