Hello!
My grandmother lived in Las Vegas and collected a fair bit of turquoise jewelry from the 50s through the 70s. I am helping my mom repair and learn about the pieces so she can share them with her grandchildren. We want to keep pieces in the family and have them be part of our treasured heirlooms and we want to be fair about distributing them. Much of that depends on learning which ones are authentic and what traditions they come from. Unfortunately, they’re all old enough to be unmarked, so I’m dependent on Google image searches. I’m hoping through this forum I can find sources that will help me learn and share more about their stories.
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Hi and welcome 
Can you please share photos of the back sides of each piece, focusing on the stamps?
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Can likely save you some time on this collection. Everything I’m seeing is commercial grade piece work type production produced in quantities for quick sale, probably in the 70s or 80s. There might be an initial or two on the back, but the chances of them belonging to an artist who is documented in the hallmark books and records available to our members here are slim and none.
None of anything displayed was made prior to the 70s.
I wish there were more exciting background, but that’s pretty much it.
If you’re wondering what they’re worth, the answer with few exceptions is “we don’t know”. Many times items like this sell at or near scrap value. You’ll find tons of jewelry just like it on sites like Ebay, and at swap meets, gun shows, and occasionally thrift stores.
The bullet points are:
:: Real turquoise ( fairly low quality stabilized or treated).
:: Handmade with the exception of beads and findings (unless its signed with something solid like a full name, there’s no telling who made it or where it was made).
Native? Without provenance, no one ever really knows.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to provide a detailed response! I meant to save you the time by posting specific questions in the appropriate forums, but you beat me to it! That was the conclusion I was coming to based on the forums and Google searching.
I didn’t expect any to be valuable artist pieces. My question is actually whether it’s even okay to wear or resell some of them. I realize that’s a personal choice. I think I’ve decided if they’re imports, I’d rather scrap them. Where they are low quality, I’m thinking I might sell them and put the money toward authentic pieces. Having an expert validate my assessment will help me convince my parents to let some of these go and purchase quality. Thanks again for being so generous with your expertise!
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With the notable exception of the fancy chandelier necklace (pretty piece, but who knows what the origin is), the rest of the pieces look domestic.
It sounds like the pieces are a real connection to your mom, so I wouldn‘t be too hasty in letting them go only to regret it later. The real value often lies in those very personal connections.
There‘s a great deal of myth and misunderstanding surrounding this genre. When someone shows up inquiring about the origin and nature of what they have, if it is possible to do so, I believe it‘s a disservice to avoid providing a realistic eye level assessment.
There’s nothing at all wrong with these pieces. They’re sort of bohemian cool, hand made, and attractive just as they are. What you have is probably close to a half century old. Right now there‘s a lot of it still floating around from the boom of 70‘s on into the 90s. However, with metals prices climbing as quickly as they are, a lot ot items like this are going to disappear into melt piles, and items that are still around 20 or 30 years from now are going to have an appeal and following like mid-century and Harvey era jewelry do today.
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Thanks for such a positive perspective! The fancy chandelier necklace has a matching bracelet and a non-matching bracelet. They’re all on base metal with no markings of any sort, so they’re vintage fashion jewelry. Those are easy to keep and wear—there’s no scrap value and up close it’s clear from the findings they aren’t pretending to be authentic.
My mom enjoys the squash blossom (which she knows was the most expensive) and the ring has a mark etched on the back, so they’re keepers. The y-shaped necklace with Navajo-style leaves is marked “Plata 925” and I can see where numbers imprinted on each setting for the silversmiths show through to the back. I won’t feel good about wearing that one. The necklace with composite rounds is 1.25 lbs and I don’t think any of us will ever wear it. The beads seem to be plated. I’ll see what my mom says, but I think she might be just as happy with an artist piece with Nevada turquoise. She might actually wear that (or get to see her grandkids wear it). I didn’t know where to start with upgrading or repairing any of this, so this forum has been an incredible find!
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You all have been so helpful, I thought I’d share this update. I brought the jewelry back to my parents and they agreed with the plan to sell pieces we won’t wear and put the money toward pieces with quality turquoise. My dad said, “I think I have some turquoise rings in my jewelry box. See what you can tell me about them.” And then he brought out these Zuni tortoiseshell inlay rings that Google Lens says have the hallmark of Sadie and Morris Laahty. He says they purchased them on a road trip through Arizona in 1972 and he bought them because the artistry and workmanship were so fine.
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IMO, that is a cool sunface ring. Thank you for sharing it with us.
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Yes! Morris and Sadie Laahte, sunface masters. That one is worth keeping, and a little unusual to have it with the shell (btw I believe it is cowrie shell, not tortoise shell).
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Thanks so much for the info! I feel better knowing it’s not from an endangered species.
One of the rings fits my mom perfectly and one fits me, so now we match! It’s also given me an excuse to shop for vintage Zuni earrings…
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