Just found the above necklace again - vendor still had it and I now have some photos if anyone might venture a guess as to authenticity and an approximate value if this is decent turquoise and worth purchasing. Thank you all for your thoughts on this piece.
That is pretty much exactly what I was picturing. I’m not an expert on whether it’s completely legit, and if the stones are real, but at a glance it looks okay. I’ve seen many like this.
Thanks “Ziacat” for looking at my photos. After seeing it a second time I am still unsure of it’s quality. I haven’t seen many with the turquoise heishi between the nuggets. Also the shell at the end as well as a different way of wrapping it off. Still try thinking on it though.
I personally wouldn’t worry about either of those things. Seen both of those many times. However, I can’t tell if the turquoise is real, or if so, if it’s good quality. That’s more what I would wonder about.
I’m not an expert on beaded necklaces but something just doesn’t seem right. I’m with you on the turquoise heishi between the beads. Also the neckline doesn’t look right.
I’m not sure I understand the concern over the turquoise heishi. I know it’s not as common but I’ve seen it quite a bit. Here are several examples.
For sure, some of the old and now-valuable Navajo and Pueblo turquoise tab necklaces have turquoise heishi. It’s a positive quality rather than a negative. I have two excellent ones that do. @Ziacat’s pics illustrate this, here are others for reference (Chipeta and Shiprock):
Hard to interpret the turquoise from the overexposed lighting and lack of macro shots. But there are a lot of similar Santo Domingo necklaces around, and the lack of a neck closure–whether a wrap or silver findings, just twine–makes it hard to actually wear, IMO.
I never thought about the lack of a covering on that being uncomfortable on the neck, but that makes sense. I’ve got one with just the twine, but the heishi goes right up to the knot and it’s just one strand so not heavy, and doesn’t bother me. So is that the reason for the wrap? That never occurred to me.
I never thought about the reason for the wrap before. Interesting to now know why. Luckily or not, the necklace is not heavy so I would imagine not too uncomfortable to wear. I will give it another look if they still have it. The turquoise heishi would not bother me quite so much if it was a tab necklace or carried all the way through. That heishi has a somewhat chalky look to it. The shell heishi looks like something that might be bought at a supply shop so it confuses me as to age and quality especially with the way it was ended off. Pretty piece, not sure if it is worth 250.00. Need to get a better feel for it, but again, thanks Ziacat for all your research and photos, Chickfarmer for your information and Islandmomma for your opinion. I have inherited a number of pieces and through this forum, realize that many are not what they were sold as. I want to try to do a better job authenticating before spending my money.