I know our group is called “Turquoise” People, but does anyone know much about the use of jade in Navajo jewelry? I ask because I have seen an interesting hammered bracelet that has tested at coin silver but with a nephrite jade stone. Rather unusual bezel too, not quite sawtooth. Is this Navajo or perhaps actually Mexican/Mesoamerican? Any thoughts are appreciated.
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Nice bracelet! Certainly looks NA to me, but I’ve not seen Jade used in NA jewelry. I’ve seen this “scalloped” bezel used in older pieces; see the 1950’s Zuni bracelet below:
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It is always difficult to determine without having a hallmark for identification. You might also consider this might not be the original stone but a replacement, usually the stone will set above the bezel in the setting.
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It doesn’t look NA to me, not only the stone but also the silver fabrication and the bezeling. Jade is highly unlikely (very unusual) to be the green stone in a NA piece: it’s simply not necessary, given that there are good dark green turquoise stones available.
