I bought this ring that immediately reminded me of the work of Charles Loloma. While it definitely isn’t a Loloma, I’m wondering if this might be a student of his? I have seen the mark posted here on the forum before but I was unable to find the post. Additionally, what is the pink stone? I don’t believe it’s porous enough to be coral
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The man I was thinking about was Al Somers and after looking as some more of his work, I don’t think it’s him.
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found a decent webpage on coral and native american jewelry here:
https://tskies.com/native-american-use-of-coral-in-jewelry/
at the bottom of the page references are cited where the information was compiled from.
I tried to zero in on the sweet spot of your close up photo
and look for something like this - “Experts distinguish natural coral by its distinctive wood grain texture.” quoted from the tskies webpage cited above. does look kinda gritty.
hope something in this mess helps.
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Thanks for the help! Im generally very distrusting of the ArtAmerindien site, but that hallmark is definitely a match. I have not been able to find any biographical information on an Edward Zuni, so the mystery continues!
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Could Zuni be referring to the tribe and not a last name?
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I’m not really sure. I don’t really associate this style as being Zuni, but “Zunie” is a common native last name.
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It kind of looks like a lighter colored catlinite (pipestone).
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It doesn’t remind me of coral, more like a pipe stone look. Wonder if it comes in this color?
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I also thought that it was consistent with pipestone! I just didn’t think that it came in that color!
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Steve, I sent the seller a message and they said they found the hallmark on the ArtAmerindien site 
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I have seen darker and lighter shades of it. Here is a piece from Etsy with a similar look.
Not my listing.
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There was an old pipestone quarry near where I used to live. A local who was using the material told me that the color can vary depending on local minerals in the soil.
He was making pipes and knife handles. He sometimes added other powdered minerals to adjust the color. He was brilliant and learned how to get just the color he wanted. He would collect local rocks and grind them. Then add the powder to the pipestone he collected from the stream. The stream ran through the old quarry. Different rocks resulted in different colors. He only used self collected rocks ranging from white to black.
The pipestone had to remain wet before he mixed the other minerals in it.
He was doing this well into his 80’s.
This was in NW Wisconsin.
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I think you have it figured out! That’s exactly what the stone looks like!! Thanks!!
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This is fascinating information. Thanks for sharing it!.
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Oops! I sent the above photos without text. This is my first time trying to navigate sending photos! I bought this pendant in the 70’s from a gift shop and it looks like the same hallmark!
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