I just purchased this ring on line. I love big rings, but it looks like the previous owner loved this one too and wore it a lot. It appears that the back of the shank is cracking and perhaps was possibly already repaired once? Can something like this be repaired? What can you tell me about the maker, Marcella James, and can you tell me what kind of turquoise this is? Thanks!
1 Like
It just looks to me like the seam in the silver where the band was soldered when the ring was made, since it appears to be all one piece. I don’t think it’s a defect, just a visible seam. Unless it feels flimsy/about to separate or you can see daylight between the edges, I’d leave it alone.
2 Likes
A similar example sold at auction in 2019, so evidently a style she repeated. Per Google, as I’m sure you’ve already seen, this artist is listed as Navajo.
Possibly what you’re seeing is an inelegant sizing job, rather than a previous repair.
1 Like
I’ll take a closer look as soon as I can. It’s currently packed as I’m leaving for an out of state trip tomorrow. I was a little worried about wearing it, but you could be right. I’ll take another closer look and see if this could be the case. Thank you!
It’s a little hard to tell from your photos, but I’m not seeing anything that’s structurally concerning here. Just a little inelegant, as Chicfarmer said. My first thought was that it was resized at some point but it could be the original soldering as well.