Saef-
Thank ypu for the helpful response! I have to imagine it can be very difficult to detect lifting on a chip inlay piece! I mainly collect block inlay pieces. They don’t have much epoxy on the sides of the stones, so once a lift starts, it quickly becomes a loss. Collecting Native American jewelry sure has some challenges! Some of the most exquisite and wonderfully designed pieces can be inlayed with lab created stone. With the scarcity of the true seni-precious stones ever increasing, the Artisans are forced to make do with faux materials in order to keep the prices reasonable. The one thing that often holds true (especially for Guild pieces) is that a lot of the Artisans will refuse to embellish them with their Hallmark … they will have a Guild hallmark only, or no Hallmark when not created at a Guilld. Best of luck in your collecting endeavors!
- Pete