We’re excited that we’ve added a new piece to our collection! We can’t wait to gather information and discover the value of this squash blossom. Would love to find any history.
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Welcome to Turquoise People.
The only thing I found similar to the hallmark has the “James” in cursive. I also find it odd that this hallmark looks double struck. And I’m thinking the beads look like pre-made beads from a supply store like Thunderbird Supply. Hopefully someone else will jump in with more info.
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I was hesitant but in my opinion this has more of a Tibetan manufactured look similar to others I’ve seen and does not resemble James’ known work. Here is his stamp which seems authentic based on the style.
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Would you share what, if anything, you were told about this? How did it make its way to you? Always informative to hear the backstory.
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It was acquired from a high-end jewelry store in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We were told its Navajo possibly from the 1970’s
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High-end jewelry in general, or high-end in selling only Native American pieces? I’ve seen pieces like this online that have questionable hallmarks and the same beads. But 
Edit: is this the store?
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You can ask Geraldine James what she values it at - looks like her hallmark as @StevesTrail has shown - although the hallmark the OP posted is not the same style.
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Was looking at the site I linked above. Found some questionable stuff on there like this supposed Tommy Singer necklace. I can’t find anywhere that he stamped his items with 925 instead of sterling. And if some place is going to charge $4,700 for a necklace, they better give a whole lot more information.
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That is an interesting piece. The style is like Lula and Alvin Begay, maybe they just aren’t sure of what they have.
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I googled them, and it does look like their style. But I couldn’t find them as using 925, it looked like everything was stamped sterling but I only took a quick look.
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I just did a Google search, too. I can see the similarity in their work to this necklace but, like @Ziacat, I didn’t see any of the Begays’ work stamped .925. This gives me pause. (Their jewelry that I saw is stamped sterling with a feather motif). I’d be very curious to see the hallmark, if any, on this “Tommy Singer” necklace.
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I looked at the website, did you see a stamp or referring to the .925 sterling Silver in the brief description? I think they might mean it is just sterling silver? I am sure they would send you an image of the clasp if asked.
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They have no pictures other than that one. And in the copy below the one photo they say it says 925.
Edit: you may be right, they may have just meant that it’s sterling silver, and they’re used to using the 925.
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I’m not interested in buying it, I just was trying to figure some stuff out from the site. It has a number of items that seem questionable. The OP said they bought their squash (in the first photo ) from a high-end shop in Steamboat. This was the main high-end jewelry shop I could find, and asked them if it was this store, but they didn’t respond. So I was merely being curious.
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I just sent them an email about the necklace out of curiosity. Let’s see what they say…
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Yeah, I am interested as well. It is a nice squash blossom from the OP, I could see Geraldine James being commissioned to make the piece. All of the silver cutout work is different than her usual cluster style, but she is definitely capable. Those beads are a popular style and definitely tell us it is most likely much later than 1970s, plus Geraldine is in her forties. The stones look to be nice cuts of Chinese turquoise, good color and fits the style of silver work nicely. If Geraldine was to make this now I imagine you would see a retail of around $3000 for a work like this.
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So would an artist change their hallmark like that? I couldn’t find anything online by her with the last name not in cursive form. And does it matter if a hallmark is double struck? I don’t know that the OP’s squash is from the site that I linked, I just wondered. I also noticed that the linked site has some other items that have a hallmark that appear to be double struck. I’ve never actually seen that before, so that’s why I’m asking. And this is totally a personal preference, but I find the more modern looking beads a little odd with the very detailed blossoms.
Even more odd they have this ring that they’re saying is an Effie in the title at the top, and then they show a different hallmark.
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Update: I’ve received no response from Spur Ranch Jewelry regarding my question about the necklace. Apparently both the OP and the store have gone dark…
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