I recently purchased some old stock Native American (mostly Zuni) jewelry from the stepdaughter of the guy who owned the Bluewater Trading Post in the 1970s and 1980s. Most pieces are unsigned but these earrings have inlaid charoite and are stamped either ICA or TCA with a copyright stamp. Does anyone know whose stamp this is? Thanks.
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I have these exact same earrings in gaspeite.
Purchased from a thrift store in Abq. Marked the same as yours. I have no info on the maker, so I’m no help!
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@Stracci Earrings? All I see are gorgeous turquoise cabs 
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I did a Google image search and got this:
The image shows a pair of earrings made from repurposed knitting needles.
These are often referred to as “knitting needle earrings” or “recycled knitting needle earrings”.
The small, pointed tips of the needles are used, often with the colored, anodized aluminum portion providing the main aesthetic.
They are typically handmade, upcycled items, often available for sale on platforms like Etsy from independent craftspeople.
Some sources suggest they are inspired by the colors of natural formations like the Grand Prismatic Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.
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Hey Steve, I’m wondering if Google lens has the photo confused with a certain blend of tungsten electrodes used in tig welding. It’s referred to as E3 and is labeled by a purple band at one end. It’s what we run at the shop for both AC and DC tig welding operations. Different blends of tungsten bear different colored bands: 2% thoriated is labeled with red, ceriated with orange, etc. Just a thought. 
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fixed it for ya L0L 20
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after a half dozen dead ends, links to faceflop groups & a few sketchy websites with DEEP discounts (quick enter credit card info here) I started to read some descriptions like this:
Please note: TCA is the hallmark for the The Cut Above designers which is now known as Designs by Sanel which was located in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986.
The cut Above jewlery manufacturer. They where native inlaid and the manufacturer was located in Bernalillo these are from the late 70’s maybe 78
vintage original heavy Southwestern Navajo Mountain Cloud Turquoise Inlay Earrings from TCA (The Cut Above designers which is now Designs by Sanel) out of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986. Probably inlaid by Billy Jaramillo or Cathy Sanchez.
also found and lost another blurb that said earrings were purchased at B Altman’s in the 80’s and carried the “copyright TCA” mark
y’all can take it further down the wabbit hole from here
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