That’s a beauty. Love the stone.
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Sigh…dismissive anti-boomer humor. Sad to see it here. Was definitely there…I do get the sense though that you definitely were not.
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Thanks so much. I’m not sure what the stone is but I had to purchase it, plus it fit 
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Stone looks a lot like natural Blue Gem to me. Pretty sweet!
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aw,hon…really?
went to california inna vw bus,w/a plywood “bed” in back. somewhere around '72-ish? pretty sure it was in nm where I crept up a mountain thinking that the 15mph speedlimit was way too fast,leaning to the high side & giggling at what seemed to be the entire population of a tiny town stopping to stare at a strange vehicle going by.
that little adventure was caused by a big paper map(remember them?)…why go so far out of the way when this road goes straight? (duh…“hopelessly midwestern”) cuz there’s a freaking MOUNTAIN in the way
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I think I love this one even more! The stone is beautiful and I like the style, I’m often drawn to the older, more traditional look.
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Yeah, so I’m a gen x’er (barely - in under the wire), but my brother and sister are boomers and are awesome, and they certainly remember the 70s. Interestingly, we (the Gen x’ers), are the generation nobody really hears anything about. Ever.
I will say for me the biggest difference is usually the music. Me… Beatles meh; U2…woohoo!
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I still use paper maps. I don’t need no stinkin’ GPS 
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Favorite musical epochs are 50’s 60’s, 80’s, and early 90’s. I do love old Beatles songs though 
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And John Cougar Mellencamp. Whatever name he’s using - Johnny Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Mellencamp. Scarecrow album is my favorite ever. But I am a Hoosier.
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Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. It’s been so insightful 
I am so glad I picked a good one.
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I’m late to the discussion on availability of commercial components, but I’ve jotted down some dates during my reading which may be of interest. Per Deb Slaney, in the 1930’s sheet silver and commercial wire replaced ingots and planchets. Per Adair, sheet silver became available in the 1940’s. Slaney would have been referring to Zuni specifically, and Adair’s research included Navajo, Zuni, and other Pueblo work. Of course, the components may not have reached all locations in the Southwest at the same time. So far I haven’t come across anything specifically referencing when commercial bezel became available.
It’s also interesting to note that in 1938, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (IACB) passed standards that in order to qualify for their silver stamping program, machinery such as rollers couldn’t be used. At the time there were many who thought that even hand rolling ingots to make your own sheet was relying too heavily on modern machinery. Per Deb Slaney, when the IACB relaxed these regulations in the early 40’s, wrought silver all but disappeared from Zuni.
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Thank you so much. I completely agree with you. I’m drawn to the more traditional pieces too. It’s rare to find anything nice where I live, so I jump at pieces like this when I find them 
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So here is the other ring I mentioned. This one has been through the ringer (yes a very bad pun, but intentional).
Years back we got stuck in Steamboat Springs with car trouble. I found this ring in the pawn section at the back of a store, and loved it, but knew we were probably going to have huge car costs, so I waited. Fortunately we found out things weren’t going to be quite as expensive as we thought, so I bought the ring. Then about a year later the big mother of pearl piece fell out and I couldn’t find it. I sent it to a lady in ABQ who fixed it. THEN, about 6 months after that, I was putting a bag of clothes into a Goodwill donation box, and it was cold out which made my ring looser than usual. So… as I threw the bag in, the ring went right off my hand and in with the bag. Arrrrgh. No way I could get it, so I called Goodwill. They were very kind and found the ring for me and kept it till I could get it. Amazing. So now I admit I’m a little nervous to wear it! I don’t know how many lives a ring has 
. But I absolutely love it.
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I’m late to responding to your rug story too, but the whole time I was reading I was hoping you went with the rug that made your heart sing and I’m so glad that you did! With rugs, size matters (think how much more physically and logistically difficult they get to weave as those upright looms get bigger), so that is an objective consideration as well and how well it’s made. But the most important thing is to buy what speaks to you and you love–that’s what will bring you joy for years to come, not the technical specs of the rug. Anyway, I’d love to see a picture of your rug if you haven’t shared it here yet.
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Here it is! The colors don’t show well since it’s late. It was made by an older Navajo lady, and if I remember right, the owner said sometimes that’s why the weaving isn’t quite as straight. But he liked the design also, and he mentioned he always wanted to keep buying rugs from the Grandma’s because it helped them out so much. And for some reason I just loved it. So I did go with my heart!
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Thank goodness. What a lovely piece, I’m so glad you were able to get it back. It’s definitely where it’s meant to be
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How cool! I really like it, and you’re right, the design is really different, not like anything I’ve seen before. I love the colors and the visually striking pattern.
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Thank you both! It looks quite a bit narrower at the bottom (which it’s not); must just be the angle of the pic. And yes, Tah, you are correct about the poster! It was my mom’s and she loved it so much I just couldn’t let it go. We had very little space on our walls, but we fit it in somehow.
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