As much as the Ryan Michael/Ralph Lauren sandcast buckle disappointed me, I must say that it is one heck of a reproduction. Embarrassingly, I admired that buckle in those ads for at least a year and was totally convinced it was vintage Navajo.
What’s sad is, the sterling version of the RL sandcast buckle is $500. $500 would buy a nice authentic, handmade NA buckle. I suppose the people buying the RL buckle just want “the look” for an outfit and have no interest or passion for the meaning behind it.