Hello all, I had an online appraisal done a while ago, but I suspect they were not an expert in Native American silver jewelry specifically, so I’d really appreciate your opinions to confirm, or possibly correct, the conclusions of the appraiser.
I sent the appraiser pictures similar to the ones I posted, and the following description: Excellent Condition, Acid Tested & Confirmed Sterling Silver, Hand-Soldered, Silver Pearls
Strung on Metal Wire, Barrel Clasp
The appraiser didn’t correct any part of my description, and valued them ~$500-$600 re-sale, and ~$950 insurance
So, what do you think?
Is my description correct?
Was the appraiser correct (or close to)?
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your time & consideration
Welcome to the forum! I do not believe these are native american made or assembled. the textured spacers are commercially available in bead shops and i believe are factory made in asia. The rondelles are not in the style of NA beads, so assume these have some other origin also. Barrel clasp is not usually associated with NA construction, either. Impossible to say who it was assembled by - possibly a crafter or hobbyist, or make just purely be an import.
Still, it’s got a great look and is very wearable!
I completely agree with @Jemez2, none of the beads look handmade, and I don’t think it’s native made. I am generally not comfortable apraising cost, but a little over a year ago I bought a handmade sterling Navajo bead necklace directly from the artist for around $300, granted I prob paid less by buying directly (it was at a Native American art market), but I feel like that appraisal price is very high.
Thank you so much for your opinion! That barrel clasp is one of the things that gave me pause. I’m looking to sell it, but I definitely did not want to mislead any potential buyers. Fortunately for me, I found it in a bag of bulk tangled jewelry that I paid less than $50 for, so I didn’t pay too much for it, and wasn’t misled.
Thanks again!
I kept re-thinking that appraisal since they didn’t challenge any part of my very amateur description. And being a professional appraiser in jewelry, does not necessarily make them qualified to to appraise NA jewelry (which I think they should have been a little more transparent about…).
In any case I found it in a 5lb bag of tangled jewelry that I paid $50 for. It’s 4.4 oz, and I confirmed it is sterling with an acid test. So while I’m disappointed that it wasn’t expertly crafted by NA hands, I’m still pleased to have a good looking necklace that is worth significantly more than I paid for it.
Thank you!
I’m saying that I’m questioning the appraisal value.
I did a little research before I sought out a professionals advice, but I’m not educated well-enough to know the difference between handmade vs machine made, which is why I’m reaching out to you fine folks who I suspect know significantly more than the appraiser I spoke with.
I plan on contacting the appraiser again to express my disappointment, and edit my online review. I’m also going to provide them with the general consensus of this more properly educated group.
My hope is that in the future they won’t misrepresent their understanding of NA jewelry, and maybe they will do their due diligence by reaching out to groups like this one.
I apologize, I was asking that question of @StevesTrail, I really have no clue of the price of silver right now. So maybe it’s worth more than I think, and maybe I really got a super bargain on my necklace
If you put Navajo pearls or Navajo beads in the search bar up above, you’ll get all kinds of good threads that will give you more info about what to look for for Native made ones.
Machine made Navajo pearls have a very prominent seam, handmade it would be smoothed out some. However, I believe the completely round beads with no seam are of a different origin completely. I’ll try to find some good links to explain it better than I can.
Oops, I meant 1x-3x melt @Ziacat. An ounce of silver is at $30 per ounce. 30x.925=27.75. $28 - $84 per ounce of weight (if sterling) and based on several variables.
A agree with @Ziacat and @Jemez2 's assessments. These beads do not look to be Native made, or hand made. The barrel clasp is pretty much unheard of in Native American jewelry and should be your first red flag. The spacer beads look like supply shop beads, and the bigger beads, although they do somewhat resemble Native hand made silver beads, do not show signs of being hand made. That being said, if they are silver, you still did alright on price.
I do want to thank you for doing your own research, going to the trouble and cost of hiring a professional appraiser, and then having the appropriate skepticism of that appraiser. A lot of people come to this forum without doing any homework, and seem to want free appraisals of their jewelry from us (to which our response is often to hire a professional appraiser). You tried to do that, got bad advice, and rightly went looking for more information so as to not mislead buyers. You are absolutely right that being a jeweler/appraiser/expert in some kinds of jewelry, does not make you so on all kinds of jewelry including NA jewelry. Your appraiser sounds pretty lazy and not forthcoming in their expertise (or lack of) to me, but thank you for being suspicious and going the extra mile to not mislead your buyers.
