I am new to this group. I have a few questions, and I hope these questions don’t violate the rules of the group. I have a friend who has inherited several beautiful pieces of turquoise jewelery. One is signed by Larry Moses Begay which is a squash blossom necklace. I did contact the Lowry’s at the museum in Albuquerque, however they said they could not help me, and I totally understand.
My friend is interested in selling these pieces and since I create jewelry myself I offered to help her. I live in Michigan and know there is no market for these items here. However I have spent alot of time in the Santa Fe area and understand the market for these pieces would be more valued and appreciated in the Santa Fe area. What I am looking for is the names of a couple of honest and respectable dealers who could help me.
The pieces need to be cleaned. However I understand this should be done by a professional and that is why I am leaving the pieces tarnished.
Unless someone has a suggestion and think cleaning them would show the jewelry off better for a person to purchase. I am open to suggestions. I do have some sterling silver cleaning towels.
As I mentioned before, I hope I have not gone out of the group boundaries for asking these questions and for help.
Thank you very much for everyones help and suggestions.
One other question? Will I receive a notice if anyone tries to contact me? That is why I have included my email address here. Thanks
Hi Lary. I don’t think your questions are out of line. Rather than ask for dealers that have to offer much lower prices in order to make a profit, your friend should consider members of this forum, many who happen to have some of the finest and sought after pieces in their collections.
Hi @Lary1047. Yes, you will receive notification if anyone on this site responds to your post or privately messages you. As you are likely aware, dealers buying for resale can only pay a fraction of what they hope is their sale price (+/-40%). This is reasonable since their money may be tied up for many years. As previously stated you may list pieces (one at a time) on this site and ask that anyone interested contact you privately (through messaging or the email you provided). Regardless, a lot of individuals on this forum might like to see what you have😊.
I don’t know if this type of jewelry sells better in the Southwest than Michigan.
I think of supply and demand.
Are there any reputable, consignment shops near where you or your friend live?
I live in Central Wisconsin. There was an antique shop/mall I often frequented.
one of the sellers had a large variety of Turqupooise/silver jewelry in their booth. All was in locked cabinets.
The prices were extremly high. One day I saw the seller adding items to a cabinet, so I asked to see some items.
Rings that appeared to be from at least 1970’s and not hallmarked were a few hundered dollars. Marginal craftsmanship ans small turqupise stones.
Unmarked squash blossums were all between $2000 and $5000. One very nice one with Sterling and an initial hallmark was $10,000!
Cuffs were at least $500.
There are not many places one can buy high quality Native American jewelry in the upper midwest.
I agree that this forum would be a great place to list items for sale, as many members here do not live in an area where this type of jewelry is available much in person.
You know, there is always a market right next to you, just you haven’t found it yet +;)
I live in Germany, middle of the EU. If I ever wanna sell my very cool items, I’m sure there is a platform and a market. If nothing works, try eBay, absolutely everything sells on eBay, sometimes for crazy prices (very cheap or extremely expensive). Or Instagram - haven’t bought anything there yet but I’m on it.
We have the same type of dealer in a small neighboring town (many antique stores) that has a number of glass cases in the antique mall across from the building that houses my little booth - Oregon is a pretty good spot to sell NA jewelry, but the prices this particular vendor sets their pieces at are pretty significant - I’ve seen items languish for up to 10 years (and are still there), one would think after a while you’d realistically drop them to actually meet the market for each artist (if identified), but in this case, nope.