Who are the best current silversmiths?

Hi! I am new to learning about turquoise. I prefer to buy 1970s and older, however, some of the new artists are creating beautiful works. I don’t want to get stuck with stabilized or fake turquoise. Who are the best and most trustworthy artists working today? Can you recommend Carla Laconsello and Waatsa? Can you recommend others? Should I even buy new turquoise or is it better to hold out for old? Thank you.

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I’ve collected & saved a few choice sites you may find helpful.

listed in no particular order:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/perry-null-trading-co/

https://mark-bahti-btof.squarespace.com/gallery-1-jewelry

https://sorrelsky.com/pages/jewelry-artists

https://www.winfieldtradingcompany.com/store/c29/RIBBON_WINNERS.html

https://waddellgallery.com/collections/all

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I have noticed that a lot of folks have a desire to buy directly from artists… so I made this list of 150+ Native American artists that you can buy from directly. Happy Shopping!

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Nice! Thank you! Very informative!

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Thank you Bree - you are the bestest!

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Just came across this and so grateful for this list-I’m starting my collection and so weary of eBay sellers who are selling overpriced poorly made jewelry.

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You can also try looking at the websites of reputable shops and trading posts in the southwest. I know a lot of people shop on ebay, but I just don’t do that myself. I really want to try it on and look at it, and know that I’m buying it from a trustworthy place.

A great book I’ve used over and over (although now I need the latest addition) is called Trading Post Guidebook by Patrick Eddington and Susan Makov. I bought it to know where to shop when I travel in the Southwest, but I’m sure you could find a lot of the artists and shops online.


It’s a great book; not only did it tell me wonderful places to shop, it was an interesting read with lovely photos.

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@Ziacat Thanks so much for the information and the book recco. I’ll check it out.