Jay Bond Native American Swedge Cuffs

Haha…. I think we’re comparing apples to oranges here. The type of press Khmetalwork and I are referring to is a small hand operated press of the type used in jewelers workshops for forming, and bending work. My shop doesn’t use them for this type of work, but some shops do. I suspect your bracelet was formed by hand on a steel mandrel with a rawhide or other heavy, non marking mallet.

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The bracelet I have from Jay could be an exact twin of the bracelet that was photographed against a white background by Aspire Auctions for their auctions they listed in 2015, linked earlier in this thread but I downloaded them and will upload them in a reply below.

The thin ribbons between the center and the outer perimeter are so thin it seems to be a design feature that wearing it routinely with unavoidable contacts with countertops and tables with bumps and scratches would be like an odometer of wear, so he could tell if a person had worn it as opposed to keeping it in a drawer or a box not seen and enjoyed.

Unlike all the many other artists I’ve known who almost universally talk non-stop about the sacrifices and hardships of being an artist and living the artist’s life, Jay never said a word about where he made them or what it required. He just had them. He never talked about how he made them.

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That is awesome to read, thanks. Recently i’ve been intrigued by Jay Bond and his work. I have a bracelet that very much resembles yours, but with (i guess) Carnelian stones instead of Turquoise. Really love his work and it’s sturdiness, while at the same time having refined decorations.

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70338-05
70338-04
70338-03
70338-01
70338-02
From Aspire Auctions in 2015

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If your cuff with the carnelian stones isn’t hallmarked by Jay Bond, who made it?

If anyone has a collection of Jay Bond’s work they have sitting in a drawer and seen by human eyes less than once a year, I’d gladly pay a good price, and I’d wear them.

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It is hallmarked, excuse my English, it’s a bit rusty sometimes. I really like it a lot and do wear it regularly (even though it’s a little big size for my wrist). You can see it in this topic:

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Oh that’s hallmarked as Jay Bond fer Shure absolutely positively. The bracelet with the red stones is by Jay Bond and it’s the same design as mine with turquoise stones inlaid into, what’s that ring around the stones, a 10 K gold alloy?

If you were told that Jay Bond was Navajo, it’s not true. I believe he was an Ohian, an Anglo from a Christian family in Ohio.

You could use one of the many genealogy family tree and people-finder background report services and try to find info on him in both New Mexico and Ohio. He’s a bit younger than me so year of birth is probably 1960s.

Aspire Auctions has an office in Cleveland, Ohio and a few phone calls to them expressing a strong interest might yield information.

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Wow, i hadn’t noticed that, but the rings around the stones do indeed look more like gold or copper. Thanks for pointing this out! And also for all the additional information. I really like the bracelet a lot and consider myself lucky that i found it.

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The lack of tarnish indicates gold unless recently polished. Now thanks to this thread I’m going to be looking for one. :cowboy_hat_face:

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Nobody’s gonna be polishing a thin metal ring holding the stone. And copper is way too soft and like ordinary brass, they’re the wrong color, not gold.

I think it’s an alloy of maybe 10 K (10/24) gold, just enough to shine, and mostly a harder metal.

My photos show a tiny gap in the ring around the stones.

If you really want to get your hands on them, try to find Jay Bond himself.

The more replies to this thread, the higher it’d appear if Jay did an internet search for himself.

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Wear it with old-fashioned pride of owning, and displaying, a thing of beauty. If the thin “odometer ribbon” gets a few nicks and bends, that’s proof you haven’t kept it hidden in a drawer or box.

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Thank, that is some solid advice!

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The one on the bottom seems to have those golden rings around the stones as well. I don’t see it mentioned in the description. I guess it’s safe to say that @dchanin has sharp eagle eyes hehe

$475 is pre 2005 pricing for something of this caliber. The Bezels look like 14K. At the time this was likely made gold was selling for 1/6 - 1/5 of its current price, and silver around the same. Another example of something you couldn’t touch anywhere near this price if it were made recently. Labor is more expensive, but hasn’t risen at anywhere near the same rate. Fair retail value is easily 3 - 4 times the current asking price.

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Course, this description also says he’s Native American. I’ve noticed they seem to always list everything as “important.” Not saying it’s not a beautiful cuff and worth a lot, but that’s why I’m so careful of online sites. I mostly want Native American jewelry, and would be unhappy to buy something that has been wrongly attributed.

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None of their photos show his hallmark: J (or j) Bond, though they say it’s signed by the maker, which they say is J. Bond, but they don’t show the hallmark on their cuff photos.

Jay’s hallmark is j Bond, without a period after the J. His first initial (in my cuff) is written as a lower-case j, with the dot above (not after) the lower-case letter J.

And the dealer misspelled his name as Jay Bod, in the title no less, so it’s not really of much important to them.

sold date 2011 - $172.50 for both

clearly stamped sterling & 14K

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^$150 last bid, so that was including buyer’s premium.

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I would say the bracelet is most likely legit @dchanin . If you check the main sites selling NA jewelry for big money you will notice that they will list the maker but rarely if ever do they show the makers mark. IMHO they just don’t want to share the information, or possibly there is no makers mark. Hmm? And at those prices I would expect to see the mark and some provenance with the item.

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