Hello!
Purchased these three amazing pieces at a thrift store in the Chicago area. From the research I have done I believe they are Navajo. The backs are etched with “gbt” and the year. I contacted Gold Bear Trading and they said they are not from there.
The 2 pendants test positive for silver and the necklace does not. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Laurie
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Not sure if these are Native due to the open backs but they are beautiful.
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Hi,
None of them are Navajo. Most likely made by a local amateur artisan. The necklace has what appears to be Royston turquoise; the pink stone is jasper. Enjoy your find!
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They kinda remind me of student work which has this unrefined look almost like the Brutalist style which was an art movement of the 60’s…this is not a critique meant to denegrate the nature of this work…I actually collect pieces like this often because it reveals characters of the students or developing artists that only happen during the beginning of the learning process. This looks like a beginners set of work from an experience like taking an intro silversmithing workshop or class where you have the opportunity to learn how to solder, pierce metal with a jewelers saw and bezel set some stones! The quality and workmanship on the sawn edges, variety of types of solder joints displayed here, excess solder and crookedness on the solder joints, the overall construction which doesnt take into consideration the comfort of the wearer or how it may react to different clothing materials getting snagged during the wearing process, the bezels are the premade bezel strip and the bails are pre-milled half round stock, the balled up chunks do not have the round smoothness that a seasoned smith has honed, the overall stamp work and hammer texturing techniques used are brutalistic and very unrefined…inexperience with hammers, punches, and chisels can produce this kind of stampwork which is sometimes the look that you want for a piece but a seasoned smiths brutalistic work looks refined compared to that of a beginner just simply because of knowledge of how to make a stamping tool work appropriately to create a full impression on every application. The three pieces are a very cool find and one thats not common because people typically either give their first work away, trash it because its less tgan perfect and not wearable or sell it off because its no longer an interest to them. So you found a real treasure. The fact that it is signed with a scribe and dated is the typical way students/hobbyists sign an art piece. Also material use and techniques shown kinda make me think that the instructor might have been either NA or influenced by NA culture which can get into the class or workshop by means of materials kits to purchase or influencial suggestions from the instructor such as the lovely turquoise in the grid style necklace. Overall this is just an informed overall observation…Very cool find! Thanks for sharing!
~Koliopee
Another idea! Make sure your testing the metal strips on that necklace and not the solder or solder joints because even though silver solder is made of an alloy of silver and other chemicals to make it flow at different temps it can create false negatives where it is built up. The sterling will test positive but the puddles and joints will test differently because of the hardness of solder used in the joint which all contain different amounts of fine silver which changes the temp at which the solder flows at and thus the silver purity at the joints can be different from the overall piece. From the looks of it…it looks like sterling or nickel. So check the unadulterated parts of the strips for the actual identity of the metal.
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Thank you so much for all this valuable information! Makes complete sense! I am not sure what I will do with it as I am not a collector and don’t wear much jewelry, but I love the unique items I find on my “treasure hunting expeditions”. These came in a large bag of jewelry, but were the only ones with turquoise and (jasper?). I can’t keep it all so at some point I will probably resell it. I hope the new owner keeps it intact in light of this information.
Many, many thanks!
Laurie
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No problem! I love talking about smithing its like Alchemy for me! I think the third reddish opaque piece is definitely jasper and the second blue oceany piece is peruvian opal…very nice stones!
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Beginner or not these are beautiful-- the pieces transmit their spirit through the photos!! Love them!
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Definitely…sometimes student work is the most creative…you take the knowledge and learn to fly!
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The big piece is fantastic…from the brute, raw, ethnic standpoint. For me this has a lot of appeal!
I have one student that turns her nose up at traditional or contemporary design and goes straight for ethnic every time. I agree totally with Koliopee. The work is unpracticed in its construction but I may have to try something similar in my shop now! 
Good call on this one koliopee! I agree totally, Kyle 
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