Really got lucky with this little gem! Hallmark tells me it is Jimmy Herald Sr. and it looks to be Blue Diamond Turquoise. Any thoughts on value? Also the chain is not one I commonly see. Thoughts?
Hi,
I don’t know how I feel about this piece being attributed to Jimmy Herald. Every Jimmy Herald piece I’ve seen had a stamped hallmark, with a distinct, conjoined “JH,” not an engraved one. I can definitely see how the hallmark looks like a “JH,” but I think it could actually just be a fancy, single letter “H.” I could be wrong about that, and we all know that an artist’s hallmark can change over the years. So, hopefully someone else can confirm or deny this!
Also, the chain style is called a “Valentin” style chain. It’s a more common style of chain with vintage jewelry pieces, especially Mexican jewelry. It’s rather uncommon for use in modern jewelry nowadays. (I’m not saying the pendant is Mexican, just the chain might be.)
One of the main reasons hallmarks change over the course of an artist’s career is they break. Today, many artists will order their hallmark with they assistance of a computer design and it will take a couple of weeks and it will arrive at the silver shop. Pre-computer artists would make their own hallmark stamp, and it would be very difficult for them to be exact. So, it is very possible that an artist is without a hallmark stamp and decides to etch his hallmark, or that he simply forgot to stamp his hallmark in the beginning and now has to do something when the piece is completed without the hallmark, again a reason to etch. It is very possible that the piece could be Jimmy Herald.
The turquoise I do not believe to be Blue Diamond, also called Stormy Mountain. It just does not have the right matrix patterns. I would guess the stone to be Kingman or Morenci. If I had this piece it would be between $90 - $120.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks to you both! I found the marking in Hougart’s which led me to believe it was Jimmy Herald engraved. Thanks Jason for your value and Turquoise Identification!!