Please advise on maker and price. Thanks
4 Likes
Welcome Leigh! Nice piece. I’ve been out of the buying for a while so can’t help you there. I recognize the beads. We used to buy similar machine made sterling beads from Indian Jewelers Supply back in the 70s and 80s. I could not find the mark either but that’s quite common.
2 Likes
Thanks, so machine made beads… I’ve had some tell me value between 800-1200 dollar( plus on EBAY & Etsy you see them listed that high) I’m thinking if I can’t authenticate the necklace that seems an unrealistic price. Can you give me an idea what you’re seeing that leads you to machine made? ( I’m learning)
1 Like
Here is a c1980 packet of the beads from IJS. They are machine stamped and (I forgot) hand soldered. When looking on sites such as eBay to value an item, I always advise to look at SOLD auctions, not current Buy-it-Now listings.
3 Likes
thanks again, your tips help a lot!!!
1 Like
Not an expert, but that seems like a high price, especially if you don’t know the artist. I didn’t have any luck on the hallmark, but I don’t have any hallmark books except for a Hopi one; I only looked online. Someone else here may have more luck.
With beads, you look for slight differences in them, not uniformity.
I don’t have a guess on the stone, nothing characteristic stands out to me. Much of the turquoise out there is Kingman.
2 Likes
I agree on the price without true authenticity. Might slide by the local library see if they have any books on the subject.
1 Like
Here’s a link to a thread discussing one of the books that people reference a lot. And within this thread there’s a link to another thread that has a discussion with more books mentioned. One of these days i will break down and buy it, as long as I’m not tempted by more Native American jewelry instead 
WTB Hougart Hallmarks book, 3rd or 4th Ed
1 Like
Hougart’s last book is the 5th Edition published in 2022. It can be purchased at
and is delivered quite quickly.
As he passed away last October it will be his final version unless his widow, Sue should carry on with his work.
3 Likes
The only artist I’m familiar with having the initials VR elongated is Virgil Reeder. He’s on Facebook if you’d be interested in contacting him. Sometimes there are juniors and seniors in the family. It might be worth a shot.
2 Likes
Just a note for those outside the U.S., the Bille Hougart site doesn’t ship internationally, otherwise I would buy it in a heartbeat!
I’m hoping against hope that the 5th edition will come out in ebook format someday, but with Mr Hougart having passed on, I’m not holding my breath that it will happen soon.
However, it is possible to buy a couple of his smaller books as ebooks from the Hougart site or from Amazon.
1 Like