I’m looking at the ad for this blossom necklace for sale about 50 miles from me. Was wondering about what age it might be and what it may be worth. The paperwork says Navajo style. What would you say. These are the only photos I have right now. Thanks.
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From the photos it looks Navajo, old, and authentic. Perhaps a serious collectors piece.
From the photos, the work looks really expert, the designs are stamp work, not engraving, and the beads look handmade. Turquoise looks top quality, well cut, and natural.
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I’m waiting on the seller to get get back to me. In the photos in looks like the silver has been possibly cleaned and maybe harshly cleaned. I won’t know until I see it. How detrimental is this? Can it be restored and how would this effect the value? Sure hope it’s still available and beautiful if I get a chance to see it!
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It looks gorgeous in the pics!!
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What a pretty box bow squash blossom. This is a popular style for collectors, price is typical/fair. This is higher than some but you also see them much more expensive. I quickly found two online for $3600 and $4500 of this type. The aesthetics and dating play into pricing. For ex.
I wouldn’t count on Morenci as being necessarily right; they’re hedging in the description. Good stones, whatever their origin.
Probably 1940s-1950s.
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Thank for the wealth of knowledge. This would be my first blossom if it goes that way. I love the piece!
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Stone looks more like Blue Gem to me.
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@chicfarmer I agree with your comment that you wouldn’t count on Morenci as being necessarily right. So, now I have a question and I hope you can offer a reply: If this SB necklace is indeed Morenci turquoise, would that necessarily dictate a higher asking price, in the marketplace, for the necklace?
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Pricing on a vintage box bow necklace isn’t only or mainly about the turquoise in it. If the stones are natural and high quality that counts for a lot, relative to lesser necklaces, but craftsmanship, aesthetics, date, weight, condition, and (rarely) provenance also factor into resellers’ pricing. Morenci is great and desirable, but it’s in a tier with other good mines. Look at comparables at the best retailers and you’ll often not even see the turquoise identified by mine, unless it’s extremely clear to identify it or there’s documentation.
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@chicfarmer Thanks for your clear and comprehensive explanation. I was placing too much emphasis on the type of turquoise as the primary driver of pricing (for either an appraisal or marketplace pricing.) As you mentioned, all the other aspects of an item need to be taken into consideration.
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Still waiting for reply lol.
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Good luck 
! I hope you get it. It’s a very nice squash blossom necklace.
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Still on going- maybe tomorrow 
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This is so true, and reminds me of an interaction I had with a seller in Santa Fe this summer. She had a nice older squash blossom for sale that she was trying to identify the turquoise in, and asked if I had any ideas. I told her that I wasn’t sure, but that I also didn’t find it that important. She vehemently disagreed, and insisted that if she could “identify” the turquoise mine that she could charge more for the necklace. The squash was well made with handmade beads and natural American turquoise, 40’s or 50’s. The turquoise didn’t have any characteristics that made it easy to attribute to any mine with certainty. If I had been interested in purchasing it, I would have considered my price based on the quality, workmanship, and age of the necklace, and the fact that I felt the turquoise to be natural and American. But I would not have paid more for any mine attribution she claimed, and would have basically disregarded her attribution as mere speculation.
I agree that this box bow squash looks really nice, though I’d love to see better photos of it. I don’t necessarily agree that it looks harshly cleaned–the first picture gives that appearance, but is a pretty bad photo overall. The last two pictures probably represent what it looks like better and it appears to have an appropriate patina in those.
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Seems like I may see it with my eyes tomorrow- excited.
For me, I believe the stones are Morenci and am excited to have the opportunity to may have found them. But regardless of mine, I love the colors of these stones. It may have something to do with being a water baby lol - they give a soothing and happy feeling.
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Please let us know how it goes! Good luck!
The colour of the stones is simply gorgeous and I imagine you could gaze at them forever 
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The seller set up the time and the place which was a transaction area in the local police station. As soon as she handed it to me, I knew I was going to buy it. We talked as she told me a bit about the necklace. Her father was a miner of gold and silver in Arizona and received it in trade for payment in 1960. Her father passed away recently. She and her mother discussed the necklace deciding since no one wore it they would sell. A couple of others looked at it before me. One of the people said that he wanted just the stones which bothered the daughter because the family had always cherished the necklace as a part of their husband and father and admired the art of it. She did not tell me about the other that came to look at it. This kind woman included the little plastic case the blossom has been in for the last 60 years basically untouched. The miner’s wife wrote the note included in the case. It reads- Navajo Squash Blossom- Morenci Mines 1932 - 37- Inlay is Zuni.
I’m adding a few more photos using my phone. Need a decent camera- could not capture the Turquoise. I am able to see a small amount of pyrite in some stones. The necklace’s size and weight is very comfortable, hanging 17" to bottom of naja. Been wearing in most of this good day.
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Here’s a few more pics of the markings and what it looks like on : ) Oh, and the police transaction area.
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Congrats! It’s a beautiful squash blossom necklace.
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