My excitement turned to great disappointment when I received these two cuffs and they were both grossly huge for me! I’m deciding if I want to sell them, so if someone could give me a value on them I would really appreciate it. l’m never sure if what I paid for something is on point. On the other hand, I’m wondering if it would be improper to have the cuff(s) redesigned by removing and replacing stones and using the sugilite to commission a piece for myself? I feel sort of wrong to disassemble someone’s work, but I’m so frustrated that I so looked forward to these pieces and then receive them and they don’t fit! So the thin one is Sterling and 14K gold by Herbert Begaye. I feel it is almost sacrilege to undo his work, but figured I could/would replace the stone(s) with something else, most likely a nice piece of turquoise. The other piece I was told is new old stock made by C. Montoya circa 1980s and it has 5 nice sugilite cabochons. What is the general consensus on something like this? Thanks for any insight and/or advice you can provide!
I am not sure about the price but I do like the bottom dark lapis. What size are the cuffs please? Did the seller not measure correctly? That would disappoint me too.
The thin one is a 7, the other is 7 1/2. That bottom “dark lapis” is actually dark purple sugilite, hence my huge disappointment! Part of the sizing issue may be that I just recently lost quite a bit if weight.
Yes I can certainly see why you were very disappointed. They are both too big for me as well. Maybe someone with a little more selling knowledge will be able to offer an opinion on pricing. I mostly just collect. I’m supposed to be selling but it doesn’t ever seem to happen. Lol
That dark sugilite is incredible, to me the best possible coloration. I have earrings that dark and they are wowza. Sorry about the fit.
Bummer. They are beautiful. Funny, the 7 1/2 looks smaller on your wrist than the 7. Like your other cuff also!
Yeah I think it’s either the way it was hanging or the angle of the camera when I took the picture. But of course both of these cuffs have good thick solid silver and there is no give at all to them to be able to try to adjust them at all either.
These cuffs are yours and you can do whatever you want with them - sell them, remove / replace the stones, run them over with car…
I think the question is how much are you willingly to spend to resize them & replace the stones. Once they are reworked are they still the artist’s work…I don’t know.
Unless these pieces are work of artists you’ve coveted, perhaps it would be better to sell them and buy precisely what you want - right size, preferred stones. Another consideration, if you remove the sugilite the value of the cuff is reduced to scrap price about $20* an ounce. You could replace the stones but how much would that cost, especially if those are not calibrated cabs plus the labor to do the work - could you recoup your cost 
*(Silver is about $22 a Troy ounce, less 7.5% to get to the sterling price.)
The Begaye Sugilite bracelet can be easily sized down to fit your wrist. It’s simply a matter of taking about 1/4" off each end, smoothing the cut edges, and forming the bracelet a bit tighter on a mandrel. The photo is a bit blurry but it looks like the Sugilite would polish right up. Herbert worked with me for many years, and this is a fine example of his excellent workmanship. Would be a shame to sell it for pennies on the dollar since it’s actually worth well over a grand at todays market prices (unfortunately very few secondary market vendors have any idea how to evaluate or price fine handmade gold and silver jewelry).
Thank you! I will look into trying to have that done then.
Glad @mmrogers had a good solution…I’d hate to lose those beautiful pieces, too. The one with the gold is really special.
Also good for me to take note of this as I also have a couple of cuffs that are too large and I am not wearing.
Yes, I will definitely have the silver and gold one resized. The other one doesn’t seem achievable. I guess I’ll try to get a value on that one and then probably try to sell it and try to find myself another nice sugililte cuff.
I have trouble finding small enough cuffs to fit me, so I know I just couldn’t order online. But I have one I love that was slightly tight. So this summer when were in ABQ I took it in to Palms Trading to have a loose stone fixed, and the gentleman there made it a tiny bit wider, but afterwards he made sure all the stones were tight.
Hello Mike
I just bought a sterling 14k gold necklace by Herbert Begaye. I noticed there is also a Herbert Begay without the ‘e’. Are they the same person? If not, how are they related. approximately how old is Herbert Begaye? I’ve tried looking for this info without much success so going to the person that worked with him is very fortunate. Do you have any more info about his art? much appreciated!!
A Begay clan reunion must be huge!
Hi Nance. Herbert is probably in his 60’s. No idea if he uses different spellings/stamps for his signature these days. Begay is a pretty common name, sort of like Smith or Jones.
Hebert’s work is always superb. Can you post an image of you necklace?
So two different people. This is Herbert Begaye. Perhaps the Herbert without the E worked with @mmrogers. I think this guy is younger but I don’t know much about him. Thanks for your replies. 
I bought this on an online auction…not much chance to buy NA jewelry in Wisconsin. I have not gotten it yet but here are a couple of pictures. It will look nice when polished.
@nanc9354 Wow, what a lovely necklace! Contemporary looking yet classic. I did a quick Google search on Mr. Begaye’s jewelry. The pieces I saw all combined sterling silver + 14K yellow gold. Beautiful jewelry. Asking prices were on the higher end. Congrats on winning this auction.
Most of the items Steve posted could be Herbert’s work. There are several though I know he did not make.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on the spelling of the name, or the style. Herbert is a master smith, and quite versatile. I would look solely at the quality of the work.
Anything that isn’t meticulously made isn’t Herbert’s work.
Notably the large turquoise pendant next to a quarter, the two clunky turquoise bracelets on the right, and onyx ring with store bought serrated bezel aren’t made by Herbert.
Lovely necklace. All hand made. Excellent workmanship!