Treasures

I’d love to see pictures of the concho belt. I was actually thinking about getting my old 70’s one out and putting it on a bigger belt so I can wear it. (Will definitely save the old leather) And yes I have gotten a few really nice necklaces by Augustine Lovato from his daughter. Not having a job has certainly put a crimp in my jewelry buying. :pleading_face:

I will try and take some pictures tomorrow. It did not come with a belt, so at some point I will have to get one. If I remember correctly it has either 13 or 18 pieces.

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I had forgotten about it as it was a lucky purchase from a coin dealer. He had gotten it in a trade and did not want it. The sad thing is he would have scrapped it for the small amount of silver and not taken into account the 800 plus hand cut stones

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Okay, here is a picture. I should have placed something in with it to show the size. The buckle is about the size of half a dollar bill.
The buckle has 96 stones
The conchos have 63 stones each
The butterflies have 27 stones each
For a total of 843 hand cut stones. Doing lapidary as a hobby the time involved just to cut the stones is incredible. Plus the silverwork and setting. If I remember correctly he charged me $100 above silver scrap value
Which he calculated at $120, so $220

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What beautiful pieces and the condition looks amazing! That probably deserves a belt but Zuni work is so delicate that I might just frame it as art. The price was also very nice. :blue_heart:

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Good morning, now I have a couple of pieces that I would love to have your opinion about if you have time. The first are a cuff and pendant with turquoise that I can’t decide about. It almost has a Bisbee look. I’m adding a picture from Turquoise in America for comparison. Also saw a group of Bisbee that John Hartman posted on Instagram the other day that had a couple cabs that looked similar. Even if it isn’t Bisbee it’s pretty and I wear it a good bit. My pictures are from inside so they aren’t the best.

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This looks like Persian to me, @Islandmomma. Beautiful stones!

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I also wanted to show you what I have on eBay. It’s full blown retail because I’m not giving it away even though I need money for medical bills. Tom Willeto Easter Blue cuff bought from Cameron Trading Company. A FB friend told me about it after he saw it in the store. It never got posted online because it was a consignment piece. eBay fees have gone up since the last time I sold there-15%. I was considering a private FB group but what i’ve seen selling is less expensive stuff. On FB I could reduce the price because of no fees but it would still be pretty pricy. Phenomenal Navajo Native American Tom Willeto Blue Gem Turquoise Cuff Bracelet | eBay

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Thanks so much! I have had this set for a long time and have never been able to decide.

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May I ask your opinion about something else. It a wonderful heishi necklace by Augustine Lovato that I bought from his daughter. I found out in my research that he purchased a lot of turquoise from Maisel’s when they closed. It was Bisbee, #8 and Morenci. I personally think this is Bisbee. So did the other girl who wasn’t as fast as me. We were actually talking about it yesterday and asked the weight. That was an interesting endeavor because it’s a monster-585 grams.


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He was going to scrap this??!! I’m so glad you got it; that would have been so awful. It’s beautiful!

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Would love to see closeups of the work, and material. From afar, a lot of the material appears to have the characteristic coloring of Bisbee. Is is possible to get some close up snapshots?

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On your cuff & pendant - my 2 cents worth says I’m in the Bisbee camp on this. Good looking turquoise!

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I just snapped a few.

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I feel like I see pyrite in this (the cuff)? I don’t think Bisbee is particularly known for pyrite. If there is I would guess Persian. The necklace looks like it has Bisbee!

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Here is another of his necklaces. This one has Bisbee and other turquoises.

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Thank you for the excellent photos @Islandmomma. It certainly does look like much of the turquoise used is Bisbee. Really beautiful necklace, and beautiful workmanship, a real stunner!

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Wow! I like this one even better.

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Thank you. It really makes me feel good when I wear it. That one is just tied together and singed—no clasp. I feel lucky to have so much of his work. All of it is solid with nice size stones but then he was born a long time ago in 1917. I’m going to add some pictures of the third one which seems to be predominantly #8.

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Yes this one is a lovely mixture of turquoise. Thank you :blush:

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