Your thoughts are logical. I’m no expert, but evidently the Argentium silver alloys replace some of the copper in the sterling silver (92.5% silver + 7.5% copper) with the metalloid germanium, imparting increased hardness and resistance to tarnishing. So even with a higher % silver, replacing some of the copper with a harder element gives argentium sliver its properties. Hope this makes sense 
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Thanks! That makes sense. I wondered if maybe the designation of Argentinium means wasn’t the same properties of sterling!
I have a fairly plain ring I recently inherited from my MIL estate. I was sure it was abalone, but numerous pictures taken with Google search comes up with Mexican Fire Opal. I’ve never heard of that before. Now, I’m not so sure which it is. Anyone familiar with Mexican FO? It also comes with an unrecognizable hallmark. It is probably 1950’s.
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@nanc9354 Hi ~ The stone looks like a fire agate cabachon (thank you to @StevesTrail). I’m not familiar enough with it to provide any real info, though, I do own a ring with a similar stone. The stone can be mesmerizing. As far as age, my guess would be the 1970s. I do believe NA smiths also used fire agate in jewelry. This may be only the 2nd time that I’ve seen a hallmark stamped on the outside of a ring band. This gives me a little pause as to whether the ring is NA made or not.
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Looks like fire agate to me, could be Arizona or Mexico.
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@StevesTrail I’m glad that you chimed in! I did a quick online search and I believe you’re 100% correct that the stone is fire agate (and not Mexican Fire Opal). Thanks. I’m going to correct/update my original post.
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Yes, fire agate! I’ve seen a lot of NA jewelers use it. Pretty!!!
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@Patina @StevesTrail @Stracci Much thanks to you guys for piping in. Fire agate cabachon it is. Yes, Patina…very unusual placement of the hallmark.
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I’m a little late to the party here but @chicfarmer I love your new earrings! I saw the starblower resemblance right away, and had that thought before reading your text. The resemblance to but also differences from Hopi overlay is also very intriguing. Oh and I’m a sucker for Bisbee stones 
I hadn’t heard of Jonathan McKinney so now I will be on the lookout for him.
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Weirdly my phone hasn’t been letting me see what I’m typing on this site if the post gets too long, so making the rest of my comments as a separate post. I have a pair of argentium silver earrings by Chris Pruitt (Laguna). I got them about three years ago, and at the time I looked into it and it seemed very few NA artists were working with argentium. Everything you said @Bmpdvm is consistent with what I read and what Chris told me. I will try to post a picture later tonight. I believe the pegasus/unicorn hallmark is for the argentium alloy, my earrings have it too.
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OO, that’s neat that you’ve decoded the argentium mark! Thanks about the earrings, I’m super pleased with them.
I appreciate the Pruitts’ clean, industrial vibe and their modern hard metals. Have you posted the earrings? Would love to see. 
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I can’t remember if I’ve posted the Pruitt earrings before; I think maybe not? Are you surprised that they’re spikey? 
Chris described to me the technique he used to get this pattern; it had to do with starting with square wire, then twisting it twice? I don’t remember the details. It has about the smallest hallmark I’ve ever seen; I can’t make it out without magnification.
the second part of the hallmark below says 925, so a different silver content to yours. I could have sworn they had the little unicorn on them, but I can’t find it now. Maybe I just came across it in my research on argentium.
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Cool earrings. Might want to leave them home if traveling via commercial airline.
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Not to belabor the subject …but am I correct in assuming that argentium silver can have variable silver content….92.5%, 93.5% or ?. Nice that the pieces provided by @OrbitOrange & @chicfarmer are stamped with silver content. I had incorrectly assumed anything stamped .935 was argentium. So, I’m wondering if there is another stamp used that identify the metal content as argentium (pegasus/unicorn hallmark.). Without a stamp in a piece marked .925 how does one know if it’s sterling or argentium (Thus, the importance of the information provided by the maker). And is there a standard % of germanium ( replacing a % of the copper), or can it vary. Guess I need to do a bit of research…too many questions 
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Addendum:
Quick search found a brief article on argentium silver. Sounds like a wonderful material for those pieces on which we love to keep a brilliant silver shine. According to this one article there are 2 types based on silver content:. 935 and .960. But this does not indicate the %germanium. And, I’m wondering if there is another .925, as in OO’s earrings. More research….
@OrbitOrange those twisted earrings are cool. I agree, airlines might mistake them as a weapon (someone else said)! That’s some really tight twisting on them, too.
Here are my latest earring additions from the flea market at the beach. I am surprised to report that the half hoops are heavier than the oval pair! There is a very tiny Hallmark of some sort on the back of the half hoops that looks a little similar to something that I’ve seen here, but up close they actually look like a little bra. Hahaha
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Hi, all! I’ve been a bit of a ghost on this forum these past few months while sorting through some really distressing health problems. This week has been less active for me on that front, however, and I’ve had a lot of fun catching up on all the recent threads during the downtime. I thought I’d pop in more presently to share some pieces I’ve picked up in the interim, following an extremely brief—whirlwind, really—trip back to the States to visit family while sorting through the implications of all this medical drama.
First up are these wonderful, pyramidal earrings by Matagi Sorensen, a Yavapai-Apache jeweler whose work is stunningly modern—avant-garde, even. I’ve followed his career for some time but this is my first purchase. I’d seen similar earrings in his portfolio but he never had anything like them when I encountered him at shows or markets. So imagine my surprise when I spotted this pair in—of all places—the Autry Museum of the American West’s gift shop!
I love the way they look on the ear; I have wavy hair and they weave in and out of it beautifully when I move. I especially admire all the rather dichotomous ways they “work”: the strong geometric quality that is also somehow fluid and organic, the delicacy that is also a bit threatening(!), and the effect of both elegance and punk rock in the silhouette and finishing (a line I really enjoy blurring in fashion in general). I’m not sure how they are constructed—the backside would seem to indicate casting, but I’m unsure (perhaps one of you has a notion)
They have quickly become my favorite pair of everyday earrings and they get a lot of compliments here in Paris (as opposed to the more usual “c’est quoi, là?” I get while wearing more typically “Western” pieces—conchos, turquoise, etc). The only problem is that they are so substantial and come to such a sharp point that I can’t travel by air with them very easily. Thus, they’ve been added to the (surprisingly lengthy!) list of jewels I own that are likely to be mistaken for weapons. From what I’ve read here recently, this isn’t an uncommon dilemma!
Next up is another pair of earrings. These are by Joel Pajarito (Kewa). The raincloud is my favorite of the common Puebloan motifs and I just absolutely love the texture of the tufa casting. They are quite heavy for stud earrings but very comfortable once I have them on.
Now, a ring by Tommy Jackson (Navajo), who passed recently. Jackson is one of my favorite jewelers and the pieces I have by him are among my most-worn. This particular ring is one of the simpler I’ve seen from him but still has the “heft” I associate with his work. It’s my first piece of Bisbee (at least, that I know of/is documented).
I really love that the stones contrast heavily and provide two examples of the variation you see in this material.
This last picture includes two more of Tommy Jackson’s rings, picked up years ago; I now like wearing all three of them at once, sometimes, even if it feels like I’m wearing brass knuckles. The spiny oyster example is my favorite of my many rings!
Next is a cuff by Peter Nelson (Navajo). I was drawn to the three contrasting textures and the balance between them, from the oxidized/scratched ground through to the almost glittering geometric/rug pattern/mesa motif (I can read it as any of these) and ending at the thin strip of highly polished silver. Nelson’s overlay work is usually quite a departure from this; while I admire that work, this more minimalist take is a bit more to my taste.
It’s just a hair too big for my wrist when worn on its own, but it’s a perfect size for layering and looks great worn low on the wrist in this way. I tend to wear quite a lot of hand jewelry at once (three or four bracelets on each arm and often a ring on every finger), so this sizing issue was actually an added bonus as opposed to a problem!
To close out, I’ve some things I purchased at Medicine Man, the gallery where I’m most comfortable sourcing vintage pieces. Both are unsigned, circa-dated to the 1940s, and attributed to a likely Navajo origin. First is a ketoh I’m actually using for its intended purpose (!) as a bow-guard while doing archery as a strength-building exercise. It fits well for this and I feel very cool wearing it while drawing without worrying about dislodging a turquoise!
Second is a concho buckle that attracted me with its scale/heft—it’s quite large, a little over four inches across, and exceptionally heavy—almost more like a rodeo buckle than a typical concho. When I finish getting dressed, sometimes my belts feel a bit anemic if I’m wearing something tighter or skipping a scarf/necklace, as at 5’9” I’m rather tall for a woman and the proportion of my torso can feel a little long. The size of this buckle gives me some choice in the matter and balances my “halves” nicely when worn alone. The only trouble has been finding a two-inch belt—quite a tall order in France, as I forgot to track one down while visiting my family back home in the States. For now, I’ve been using poster putty (!) to fix the bar a bit to the belt, so that it doesn’t move around while I’m wearing it. If anyone has a suggestion on how to manage this more neatly, I’m all ears!
If you’ve read this far, thanks for reading this short novel—ha! It’s always fun sharing new finds with people who can appreciate them or shed some extra light. This forum really lifts my spirits when I’m blue and there’s been too much of that for me lately! Thanks as always to this community for being such a special place. I hope everyone is well and looked-after. 
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I’m wishful that whatever it is you’re dealing with isn’t taking too big of a toll, you’re in my thoughts, Rio.
Beautiful additions! The Tommy Jackson ring is something else! The Bisbee is beautiful and it looks like it’s got some great weight, as you mentioned. 
Stacked cuffs and bracelets is a timeless look, and your Peter Nelson bracelet is lovely. The textured bottom layer reminds me of an awesome cuff of @Ziacat’s.
Of course, I love the ketoh. I think it’s marvelous that you wear it while shooting! It’s a beautiful piece. The hand worked surface and patina combine for a stunning presentation.
Your new concho buckle is just a pure and awesome piece of silver. The stamp and chisel work is expertly done and very tasteful. I really like the small, central, repoussé diamond, that’s a nice touch, and the stamps embellishing the scalloped border are stunning. There’s some real high quality craftsmanship evident in the tools utilized for your buckle, and I’m sure @mmrogers would agree.
And it’s a great size, as well! Many older conchos, especially ones on early Second Phase belts, were quite sizeable. @TAH and I have discussed belts from the teens and twenties that have 4 1/4” - 4 1/2” wide conchos! Heft is indicative of quality, and you’ve certainly succeeded in acquiring a beautiful buckle that exudes both!
Would you mind sharing a photo of the reverse of your new buckle?
I feel like I should put this at the bottom of all of my posts. 
But I’m proudly incapable of simple, short responses.
It’s a great place to escape to, and I, for one, am glad you feel the same. It’s an honor and a privilege to be among so many great members!
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I hope you continue to mend. It’s been a rough year health wise for a lot of folks, so I wish you all the best in your recovery 
Your collection is absolutely amazing. The Bisbee ring is my fave but all are truly gems and tick a lot of boxes on any one’s wishlist, that’s for sure. Thanks so much for sharing.
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You did well, Rio! Of course, my eyes went right to your spectacular buckle.
Don’t feel bad. A two-inch wide belt is a tall order in the U.S., as well. I had to make my own.
One option is to have a jeweler solder on a “ring” or “post” at the center of the bar, which catches the prong slot in the belt and keeps the buckle centered. Make sure the jeweler uses a laser. so the patina on the front is not disturbed.
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First of all, do not feel like you have to apologize about a long post; I always look forward to reading yours (and I’m guilty of it also ).
Secondly, I’m so sorry for your health struggles. I understand, and I will be praying for you.
And now for the jewelry! It’s all amazing of course, but I bet those earrings are really fun to wear. My favorite earrings to wear are long dangly ones, but my right earlobe is stretched so I am a bit limited. Gosh I would have never thought about them being an issue on a plane!
I didn’t know Tommy Jackson had passed away. I have been wanting one of his rings for a while, and I believe that I have admired one on Garland’s website that was very, very similar to the one you just bought (I’m wondering if it’s that same ring, because I noticed it’s not on there anymore 
). I enjoy watching the videos (most of them are from about 9 years ago) on the Twin Rocks Trading Post website/YouTube channel, and the owners seem to have had a very good relationship with him. They talked about how he was such a character, and he would ride up on his motorcycle to visit them. I love all 3 of those rings!
I have to head out, but I’m going to look at your stuff more closely, and reread your post again a little later. Hope you can begin to feel better soon! Health issues can be sooo frustrating.
Quick edit: saw your tufa cast earrings are by Joel Pajarito who is part of such an amazing family of artists. Beautiful!
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