Hello, I saw this at our local farmers market. Was told it is Navajo and authentic. The clasp particularly caught my attention. The artist is Virgil Chee they said…there is a V mark. Have found nothing else significant by him.
Items attributed to him seem to be hallmarked V CHEE and this does not seem to match his style. That being said, others have confirmed that new style bead is NA and no matter who made it, IMHO it has a clean, slightly modern NA look. Modern jewelers are going beyond tradition and the use of a lobster clasp could be a precaution against it slipping off. From what I’ve seen, when you see an import with a lobster it does not have a true NA look. What are they asking since this is likely an unattributed piece albeit well made. Others should chime in and either agree or cut me to pieces. 
This squash makes me go hmmmm… Agree this isn’t Virgil Chee’s hallmark. And I couldn’t find anything even remotely like this online by him anyway. The clasp also gives me pause. Not saying it’s never used, but it’s not very common, and I’ve only noticed it on a few things other than squashes. Maybe it was restrung, but 
I hope you get some more opinions; I’m not as knowledgeable on squash blossoms, and I am painfully cautious, especially if a seller gives me incorrect info, and is asking a high price. But it is really pretty.
Thank you for your opinion and insight. It is a modern take on the squash blossom necklace. I am encouraged you think it is well made and appears NA. I am very new to this and was drawn to it aesthetically. But question the value…I have read new NA pieces go for $1600? I also wonder about the tourquoise…how to tell it is real? Thank you again for sharing your expertise. Beanie
Thank you for your opinion. I share your concerns .
I agree it is pretty but not looking for costume jewelry. You have to be so warey! Beanie
I just got home from work a little while ago.
My question is where are the squash blossums? I see round, silver beads, turquoise and naja. No silver squash blossums.
Sorry, maybe I am just tired.
Could it be Mexican with Sonoran gold turquoise and not made to be actual squash’s? Just my best guesses from what I have learned on this site.
As for price, simpler unattributed pieces like this one at auction I have seen are in the $600 to $800 range. A brick & mortar store would need to charge more due to overhead.
The beads are supply-shop, machine-made ones, like the many oxidized strands sold in recent years. There’s no way to assign Navajo/NA origin to this necklace without more information. In addition, Hougart’s (a reputable hallmark book) has only two artists with a single V hallmark, and neither works in this style.
I agree with @StevesTrail about what it probably is and what its pricing should be like, at most. $1,600? No way.
No , you are not tired. I guess it is a modern take…I was drawn by necklace and took me awhile to notice that. So I guess I shouldn’t call it a squash blossom necklace;). Thank you! Beanie
We’ve had discussions about what constitutes a squash blossom necklace previously on this forum. I’ve seen lots of pieces called squash blossom simply because they have tabs (of some sort) between silver beads and a naja pendant. I guess I’d call this style a squash blossom style with turquoise tabs, but that’s just me. it’s pretty subjective! I agree, the quoted by @StevesTrail and @chicfarmer, seems OK, certainly not much more.
Agree with @chicfarmer: the round beads are mass produced, entirely machine made. Most Native made squash blossoms, if not made of fully hand made beads, will at least use bench beads which are hand soldered assembly line style from pre-made machined halves. The clasp as you have pointed out is also pause for concern. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was of Asian origin, though I can’t say for sure. I personally wouldn’t pay much more than the spot price of silver for this squash.
I tend to agree with you @OrbitOrange . However, in earlier posts long time members stated these types of beads were NA. I just let it go since I had no backup reference and relayed on the knowledge of others but I had my reservations. I wonder if anyone has verifiable proof as to origin.
For proof of origin, we can at least see that jewelry supply shops sell beads of this sort in bulk, calling them Navajo-pearl “style.” Strands of oxidized metal beads are available at Etsy and some retailers. They carefully don’t mention country or community of origin, but pricing gives a big hint.
https://www.firemountaingems.com/A4835MB.html
https://www.wholesalejewelrysupply.com/en/navajo-beads/
Thanks @chicfarmer . Now for my next question. Are some of the younger NA using these beads instead of the vintage bench beads (machine stamped, hand soldered) as we know them. Maybe @mmrogers has some thoughts on this (don’t mean to put you on the spot but you are the only one I know that would have insight on this).
TBH Steve, I don’t know. I have no first hand familiarity with these beads, and to me they don’t look quite right with a piece like this. To answer your question about whether younger Native craftspeople would prefer these beads, normally I would think not. Generally, Native craftspeople tend to be pretty conservative about the materials and components they use in jewelry making… At the end of the day it may simply come down to convenience (availability) or dollars invested vs return.
In light of the input here I would revise my estimate down to $300 - $500 if ALL sterling.
I’ve looked at thousands of squash blossoms and never seen a verified Native made squash blossom use machined beads like this. That’s not to say it’s never been done by any Native ever, but it’s just not how it’s normally done. But to me it doesn’t really matter if the rest of the necklace was made by a Native artist and then strung with machined beads, because if that’s the case it’s still just not a quality piece.
I think of squash blossom necklaces as having three major components: the naja, the squash beads, and the round beads it’s strung with. Although the naja and squash beads make a bigger visual impact, the round beads make up a substantial portion of the necklace. They are very labor intensive to make by hand, and I think in many cases may be >50% of the actual labor. So to me those beads are a very important part of the necklace. In fact, when I’m evaluating a squash blossom, often the first thing I do is look to see if the beads are hand made. I personally would not buy a squash blossom strung with even bench beads, which are also available for purchase in supply shops. Up through about the 1960’s, almost all squashes were entirely hand made with hand made beads. Then came the 1970’s NA jewelry boom. Suddenly everyone wanted this jewelry and it would sell regardless of quality. It was for sale in department stores on the East coast. You had more Natives making jewelry of varying quality, as well as non-Native imitators. This is when you start seeing bench beads being commonly used. I won’t tell someone else not to buy a squash that they love from the 70’s or more recent strung with bench beads, but it is just not the same thing as an entirely hand made squash.
Now there’s always an exception to everything, and we have to remember that some of these necklaces may have been restrung, or broken and some pieces lost, etc. If the rest of the necklace is really well made but it’s strung with bench or machined beads, we can always consider that maybe it was restrung at some point by somebody who didn’t know what they were doing or wanted to cut corners. If the rest of the necklace blew me away I would still consider buying a necklace like this and rescuing it by having an artist make hand made beads for it. I suppose that could be the case with the necklace the OP posted here, but the rest of the silverwork is not impressing me enough that I really suspect that’s the case.
Thank you for your well thought out post. That’s kind of what my gut feeling was, but I don’t know enough about squash blossoms to feel confident in saying very much. I feel the same as you about what I would look for in a squash blossom if I ever purchased one. That’s part of the reason I have not gotten any yet; I think it would be somewhat out of my price range to get what I wanted, and TBH I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t wear it very much. Along with the fact that we just had to purchase a furnace/air conditioning unit/hot water heater. What that cost would have bought a whole lot of nice squash blossoms…
But I do like looking at and learning about them!
@OrbitOrange I’m so glad you honed in on the importance of handmade beads as part of the beauty and quality in a SB necklace. It took me a good while to appreciate this as I built my knowledge of old Navajo jewelry over the years. Beads may be more subtle to the eye than the naja and blossoms, but they sure play a role in the net effect. Their weightiness, their tactile feel, and their varying shapes are testimony to a maker’s care and skill.
Hollow bead making machines!
The first one is from tubing and has no seams in the beads, the second one is made with narrow sheet material that gets worked into a tube first, so you get the beads with the noticeable vertical seams!
