Production piecework handmade squash, using fairly low quality stabilized turquoise stones. Likely Navajo. Commercially produced standard bench beads. This piece was likely made along with a batch order of several other nearly identical pieces. The workmanship is very good, especially for a sqash of this type. The silversmith was a professional and it shows in the work.
Beautiful and skillful work but I don’t like the stones. Maybe the stones’ surface looks like this after polish and stabilization, but for me they look damaged - like hit against something for some time.
I would not buy above silver value. Or try to replace the stones.
It’s pretty, but if it’s not what you really want, I would save your money and you will find the right one and if you don’t absolutely love it, you might end up regretting it.
One of the reasons I don’t own a squash blossom is because I know to find one I really love it would be out of my price range, or at least I’d have to not buy anything else jewelry wise for a very long time…
Absolutely! I should have gone with my gut…I was hesitant to make the online purchase in the first place. The price swayed me and I was absolutely disappointed when I received it.
Funny enough…I also purchased (won an online auction) a second squash, shorter in length, but what I incorrectly assumed was an adult-sized necklace. Pic attached for a giggle. It is absolutely TINY! I may have said, “ are you ducking kidding” when I saw how small the shipping package was.
Thankfully, I am able to return.
Pumping the brakes on online purchases for a while.
I like his videos, there are more from the same guy to dive deeper into grading. He uses the best known never widely accepted grading standard and simplified it further.
So I am sure some of my pieces have turquoise that’s not particularly wonderful, but if I love the piece and the turquoise still looks pretty to me, sometimes I freakin’ don’t care. I have a ring that has a natural Kingman stone which I’m sure is pretty low grade, because it completely changed color after a while. And now I actually like it better. And I love the ring and wear it a lot.
It also depends on what you’re looking for. I’m not looking to buy Native American jewelry as an investment. I’m looking to buy jewelry to love and to wear. It’s not that I don’t think we should learn as much as possible so we can purchase wisely, but I also know that buying high-end is not always an option.
And I have a couple pieces which are definitely older, because the stones have turned all different shades (gotta love that greasy green). So the natural turquoise in them is not very high grade either, but for me I find it desirable to have that look. One of my very favorite cuffs, which is an older piece, has three stones that (again) I don’t think are high grade by any stretch, but it is such a lovely piece I don’t care. So there’s more to it than just the turquoise. At least for me.
There is definitely a learning curve and you get a few duds when you’re new to turquoise for sure. I have a few regrettable pieces in my collection, too. You learn as much from those as the good ones!
Agree that although the construction of that squash looks good, the stones look poor…tired or beat up. I would certainly return it if I had the option to also! I think lesson learned there is there are no bargains when it comes to classic statement pieces like a good quality squash and you’re better off paying your fair/steep price but getting what you want. I haven’t found a squash that really suits me either, but I’m more of a choker type necklace girl, anyway. I’ll know it when I see it!
and if you don’t absolutely love it, you might end up regretting it.
