I came across this piece talking with the owner of a consignment shop. She hasn’t priced it yet, which gives me time to research it a little myself. The beads don’t appear very old to me, very uniform. The design is quite different, deciding whether I really like it or not. But what I wonder about most is if the stones are turquoise. Although there seems to be host rock in the stones, there just seems to be too many shades of blue in them. I’d love to hear what the group thinks. Sorry I didn’t take more/better pictures. Thank you everyone for your keen eyes
I want to say it looks like Royston. I have never seen a design like that before. Very unique. I wish the pictures were a little better so we could be a little more sure. Blurs when you blow it up. Could you resubmit the same picture with a higher resolution?
I feel like a dope! Of course, thanks. I couldn’t imagine that I guess because it’s so extremely different conceptually from most Native stone and silver two-strand necklaces with pendant pieces.
@Islandmomma , @CyanideRose18 , @chicfarmer , @markyboy57 and @Jemez2 , thank you all for your input! I have not gotten a call with a price yet. What do you think would be a fair price to pay? Each of the stones is about 2" long. The style is so unusual, I’m not finding anything to really compare it to.
I would like to be in the $300-500.00 range. However, it the turquoise is really super maybe a tad higher. I really all boils down to how much you like it.
Good luck and I hope you get a great deal!
Given its location and the absence of guidance on how to price it, I really think it needs to be a bargain relative to more established sellers and venues. You are taking an “educated risk” in buying it, or essentially buying speculatively, in that you’re not getting dependable info on its origin or quality, any sort of vetting. It’s also eccentric rather than firmly in keeping with Native work, if that’s a barometer that matters. It could, for example, be Mexican, or Anglo craftsman reassemblage. For these reasons if I were you I’d need a persuasively good deal. I’d never pay over $300 for something like this, YMMV.
I am not the best person to ask on what I would pay because if I like it, the price is not much of an issue So it just comes down to your reasons for purchasing it. I know serious collectors want to have documentation and such. I think $300 is a great price for a piece like this and honestly, that could be your reason to negotiate the price down to what you more are comfortable paying. I do love the whole negotiating process though.
In the shows* I shop for stones, those cabs would be about $500 to replace - providing they are not cracked or something weird going on beneath the bezel. If you can get a good price it may be worth it just for the stones.
*Southern California prices may be higher or lower than other regions, . You can do a search for cabochons on Instagram & Etsy - the larger the stones the higher the price.
that’s what i was thinking too - the value of the stones, to remove and reuse. the weight of sterling in the remaining piece may offset some of the investment, but it’s a gamble overall to buy a complete piece of jewelry with the intent of disassembling it solely for the stones. Still, i think those stones are KILLER. IMHO.
So I guess you have to decide if it’s worth it to you at a price you are willing to pay. I’m one of those people who, if I don’t like the piece well enough to wear it, it’s a no go no matter what the stones look like. But that’s because I wouldn’t be able to do anything else with them myself, and would have to pay someone else to make them into something. I can’t even manage to get pieces I own and love to a store to get fixed very often, so I’d prob never do something with it, and it would just sit there.
Thank you all for your input on price. In my mind I would be excited to get it for 300, but would maybe go up to 500 if it gave me “the vibe”. I did not get a chance to try it on. My friend was waiting out in the car (after a long day of junking) and I didn’t want to call attention to it since it wasn’t out on the sales floor yet. I’ll keep you posted! My birthday is this week and that would sure be a great present!
I’m still waiting for the shop owner to come up with a price on this necklace. They told me after Labor Day. So hopefully in a few short weeks I’ll have an update for y’all. The anticipation is killing me! Lol