good morning, my family and I started collecting jewelry, rugs, pottery, fetishes in the 70s, and we’ve accumulated some nice stuff! I’m looking to downsize my collection, since there’s no one really to take on my jewelry (my daughter doesn’t wear it! she’s into fetishes and pottery ).
I’ve got 2 pieces I wanted some feedback on before I put them up for sale. Any input is welcome! The link bracelet is marked Jimmy Secatero Sterling, I’ve had it 15-20 years, purchased in Zuni. I’ve seen a lot of his stuff online, but not so much inlay link bracelets, so looking for thoughts.
The other piece is a nice microinlay marked KQ Sterling, I’ve had it a while, but can’t remember where out west I got it.
I tried to find the hallmark KQ with no luck at all. This is one of those pieces (the pendant) that makes me nervous about saying it’s native made for sure, if it’s not from someplace I trust. There’s a lot of jewelry from Asia (the Philippines in particular I think) that are similar. Hopefully someone on here will have better luck with the hallmark. But that’s just me being extremely cautious, because it does have a native look.
thanks for that feedback, Ziacat. I’m aware of all the issues with microinlay in particular, and would hope this is a real deal. I tend to shop at the same places that I’ve found trustworthy, but things can definitely slip through. Some things I remember exactly when and where I bought, others the details are hazy, other than I don’t purchase online:)
I know Jimmy Secatero well. Worked with Jimmy for many years. Jimmy is Navajo from Canoncito just west of Albuquerque. Really fine silversmith. To the best of my knowledge Jimmy isn’t an inlayer, so it’s quite likely the inlay was done by someone else. This is the type of piece that would normally be cast (from hand made masters), and inlaid in a production shop setting. Would be helpful to see more detailed close ups of the backs and sides of the bracelet to learn if this is the case or not.
Thank you for posting the additional photos @tepowell . The photos show excellent detail. The silver stations are indeed cast from hand fabricated masters as evidenced by the fine porosity, the ‘grain’ or texture of the metal, and the notable absence of slightly darker areas where the solder joints would be on hand fabricated pieces. Masters were clearly beautifully made, and it’s really a lovely bracelet!
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