Hoping for some honest opinions here, this was my mom’s and the gap is 3/4 inch.
I don’t want to force it and pop the stone or break the casting but I need a little more leeway to get it on. Quarter inch would be great but might be okay with slightly less.
I have know idea of the maker as I can’t really make out the hallmark. To me it looks like WBM?
Has to be at least 40 years old, turquoise is a question as well. Have seen similar in a ring and necklace she had.
Would love to wear this, just don’t want to break it, slightly over 60 grams so pretty heavy. I won’t budge it if there is a chance I could do damage.
It would have been my first bracelet of this type.
Cast sterling has a crystalline structure and tends to be more porous and is more prone to stress fractures. In addition, wearing the bracelet over many years can cause brittleness from being hit repeatedly against things.
Ideally you would remove the stone, anneal the silver, open it with a rawhide mallet on a bracelet mandrel, reset the stone, and polish. Worth checking with Perry Nul or another for cost. Might not be too expensive and then you could wear it.
And by the photo, the stone looks to be cracked so a little epoxy would not hurt. It almost looks as if someone bent it in the center to tighten it up.
I have a sandcast cuff that was a tiny bit tight. A few years back I was in Albuquerque, and had it fixed (opened up a bit) at Palms Trading Company. I don’t know how they did it, but it didn’t take long, and I was only charged $35 which included a few repairs for other items.
I would say do NOT try to bend it yourself. You could loosen or pop the stone out. I learned that the hard way with a ring.
Thanks for all that information. I won’t try to open the gap, wasn’t sure that would be a good idea.
Took a good look at the stone under a loupe and it doesn’t seem to be cracked, seems like it is part of the matrix of the stone.
Next trip, I will bring it along and see if Perry Null or Palms can open it a bit. Possible it was pushed in as she was petite, don’t know many who would make a 3/4 inch gap.
I really like it. It reminds me a little bit of Reggie Mitchell’s style. I can’t to tell too well from the picture, but the stone is cool, kind of reminds me of some Royston that’s maybe gotten darker with age.
I have dealt with Palms for many years, and I am sure having seen and been overwhelmed by Perry Null they are both capable of doing this repair that you and @StevesTrail saved me from inflicting damage to this nice cuff.
Thanks @Steve, you have much better eyes than I have. I checked Hougarts but was looking for a M or N, never saw H. Now I can stay up late and do some more hunting. Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.
I wasn’t familiar with Perry Null at the time I had it done, and I was in ABQ visiting my nephew, so on a whim I called Palms (there was another store that I used to get things fixed at, but they closed). Lady on the phone told me they were really busy and wouldn’t get to it, but I could bring it over, and they would mail it back. When I got there the gentleman that did the repairs said something to the effect of, “well since you came so far, if you can hang out a bit I’ll fix it right now.” There was also a crack in one of the stones (it was an older cuff from the '50s) which he offered to fix. So all in all I was extremely pleased. Since then I have sent a cuff to Perry Null, and they also did a great job at a really good price. So you have two great places to choose from!
Thanks @Ziacat, yes, it reminded me of one of your beautiful cuffs.
Not sure of the turquoise, I know years ago I bought her a neat necklace from a shop in Cerrillos that had similar turquoise, but am pretty sure it is not Cerrillos.
Glad to have be warned by you and @StevesTrail not to attempt it myself. I could probably force it on, but someone would be cutting it off my wrist.
Lately I have been converting dangle screw back earrings back to their original pierced beginnings. Too bad no easy fix for clip ons.
I bought a fabulous, very inflexible cuff by Cody Hunter. It was my first “real” purchase, a storyteller cuff, and it took my breath away.
I did all the measuring and related tasks. When it arrived, I was heartbroken because it was too small. I had so much trouble getting it on.
But then I tried slipping it on higher up on my arm and sliding it down. It fits perfectly! I may be stating the obvious, but I had luck trying a different approach!
Just a thought.
Thank you for the suggestion but with a three quarter inch gap and the pointed ends of the sand cast sterling it would likely be impossible, but I might try.
