Hoping for help identifying this turquoise. It was advertised as Pixie but I read up on the mine and now I’m not so sure. The bracelet is hand wrought coin silver from the1930’s no markings. Appreciate any and all comments.
Thanks Darlene
Are you able to post pictures of the back of the cuff? Nailing down the date will help determine which mine it might be.
Hi Bigbree. I don’t have a very good camera just my Ipad. I can see what I believe are tool marks and also where someone carved in some initials at some point. It does not appear to be a hallmark.
Can you by chance give a picture of the top like you did the bottom? I am not able to enlarge the images to get a good look at the turquoise and silver work. You are calling this 1930s and coin silver, is this how the piece was sold to you or has it been passed down in the family? Beautiful bracelet, thanks.
Hi Jason,
I have included additional pictures from different angles and backgrounds. The info that I have is from when it was purchased it could be way off I don’t know.
The things I notice are a lot of tool marks both on the inside and all the way around where the turquoise is set. There is wear on the inside like is was worn quite a bit. It is smooth around the edges.
Would this turquoise be considered lime green? Any info on the age would be great.Thanks Darlene
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I am going to start with I am no Pixie turquoise expert. This is such an obscure turquoise I don’t know if I have been told this is Pixie turquoise more than a 1/2 dozen times in the 24 years I have worked in this industry.
When I see a stone like this I immediately think of Chinese turquoise. Of course that could be totally wrong. American turquoise and Chinese turquoise are very similar, and some stones from China are exact matches to rocks you find here.
This is an image just to show you how diverse Chinese turquoise can be.
The next thing we have to do is come up with an age we believe this bracelet is. Chinese turquoise wasn’t being put in Navajo silver until the 1980s. So, if the bracelet was made in the 1930s it definitely is not Chinese turquoise.
It is always an educated guess when it comes to giving a piece of jewelry an age. Things like a hallmark can give us the timeframe the artist worked, turquoise can be a clue, but unless you purchased the piece from the maker and it was new it becomes a guess.
These two images are from pieces that we believe to be pre-1950s. I wanted you to notice a few things.
Notice how worn down the twisted wire around the stones are, very smooth from time and wear. Also the bezel on the pieces in the images is much lower than the bezel on your cuff. Maybe that doesn’t mean anything, but most of the time on the older pieces we have the bezel is low. It is common when you have old stones that they do not have any backing. Also, early 1900s the silversmith is going to be much more resourceful because you just don’t go get pieces of silver at the silver shop. The biggest thing might be how the bracelet feels in your hand. You can tell your bracelet has been worn, the bezel shows that. The rest of the silver should feel very smooth, no rough edges.
Sorry I can’t give you the answer, but it is that mystery of Navajo silver that many of us find so appealing.
Jason- I learn so much when I read your posts. I’m so grateful. The example pictures really help. The scroll work in the pictures you provided is very similar to mine. That is what has me stumped if this is possibly a revival piece 80’s or later and actually Chinese turquoise, I thought the majority of revivals are hallmarked? It is very smooth no real defined edges. I guess the mystery goes on 
If you have time to reply to this post again. I’m curious how often you see Gem Silica in Native pieces? I have a piece that I think could be Gem Silica but I can’t find much on the internet when researching.
Thanks Again,
Darlene
Gem Silica is sometimes used. Turquoise and Chrysocolla are used much more commonly though. I actually just saw a really neat piece of Silica used in an old bracelet today. You should post it for us!
Hi Bree,
I have been keeping my eye on Ebay for reference on Gem Silica used in Native pieces but wasn’t finding much. Funny I looked on line and saw three items today. Thanks for the heads up. I’m not sure if mine is actually Gem Silca that is what is was sold to me as, I will post some pictures. I hope you will give me your thoughts.
Darlene
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Bree,
Here is the one I saw listed as 1920’s. It has the same combo blue green that you posted. It looks like it is even higher quality.
Well, without seeing the back, I’m not entirely sure I would date it to the 1920’s. And I do apologize, on the earlier bracelet I posted, I was told by another individual that the Silica was high grade, and that the deep, bright coloring in combination with the clear pools of Quartz is what made it high grade. I actually have no idea if this is true or not, just what someone else said!! After all this talk about vintage Silica, I have a mystery stone ring in my shop that I think is Silica, I’ll have to post a picture!
One of the better sites that explains Gem Silica, imo:
& this too, since yours are green: