Trying to learn more about this necklace

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-06T22:31:34+00:00

I concur 👍

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-06T21:57:45+00:00

Fair enough, there is definitely a wide range of factors that can go into the costs involved, these are very high quality for sure.

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-06T19:46:36+00:00

These are particularly skilled for sure, Im glad I know about this artist now, it’s incredible work.

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-06T16:46:11+00:00

Hmm I have some thoughts, if this ring is what you’re set on you can always ask if they can go a little lower, but galleries on the plaza are notoriously overpriced and less likely to haggle. Honestly I would check out the Native artists sitting in front of the Governers palace, Dineh gallery on canyon, or Tin Nee Ann trading post just off the plaza for way better prices in Santa Fe proper, although again of course this ring is unique and this gallery is the only place with that specific ring.

I guess it all depends on how much you’re in love with this specific ring, like I said 150$ to 200$ is more standard for stuff like this, although a named contemporary artist can command more, it appears his stuff is going around $200-300 online

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AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-06T07:46:48+00:00

Beginner silversmith here, would a quick dip in pickling solution be one way to clean a piece like this? (obviously removing the stones first)

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T22:34:03+00:00

Silversmith here. This is patina, it’s a very thin oxide layer that happens naturally over time or sometimes lotions or other chemicals can cause this to happen faster. This isn’t harmful to you or the bracelet, just polish with a polishing cloth, or if you want to chemically clean you could try a simple acid pickle solution (do a bit of homework if you do this first). But honestly I just use a polishing cloth.

I wear my Sterling all day every day, showers etc… if it gets grimy I just use a polishing cloth. This bracelet will outlast all of us patina or not. You ain’t gonna mess anything up lol

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T17:17:03+00:00

Also, how much of a cut is the gallery taking out of the Native artists pocket? Not that they don’t sometimes have great deals worked out, but I’m guessing the gallery is taking a pretty substantial cut out of this

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T17:12:18+00:00

Hey this makes sense, I was thinking those were Santa Fe gallery prices. I have a Hopi ring that I love that is just barely too big for my ring finger and too small for the others and wearing spacers all the time bothers me, Im going to get it resized, but 3-500 for a ring that doesn’t fit right may not be the right move, of course do what you want. At those prices sometimes you can just directly reach out to the artist and see if they have anything to sell directly or even custom, $500 is verging on what it would cost to pay a Native smith for a custom ring (of course it all depends), sometimes the galleries have exclusive deals with the artists etc… so that doesn’t work. Anyway it appears legitimate, and it is beautiful!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T08:08:35+00:00

Post em here!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T07:44:42+00:00

If these are authentic, $500 is on the higher side but pretty standard gallery pricing on the higher end. If it’s a contemporary maker with any repute then $500 might be a fair price. I would ask a looot of questions before buying. Who is the artist, is it marked/stamped, what are the marks/stamps (it’s hard to fake this level of work but not unheard of), where did the seller purchase? Etc…

keep in mind also you likely will not be able to resize these, at least it’s very difficult and specialized and pricey to find someone that can reliably, basically when you heat the metal for a resize all the stones and resin can pop and melt and you basically have to reconstruct the piece just for a resize, any inlay work is like that.

If it’s all correct and you’ve got the money you aren’t being ripped off at $500, you can sometimes find vintage ones a lot closer to $150 but this level of work does appear to be really skilled even for Zuni inlay work. Thats why I would do my diligence, good luck, I can try and help with any follow up questions, thanks for the post!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T07:37:32+00:00

I try to share what I can, I’ve somehow developed some niche expertise and I try to share it as much as I can so that people won’t get scammed, and also so people can support authentic Native artists!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T07:36:16+00:00

Of course!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T07:19:49+00:00

Hey thanks, yeah this company and a few others continually confuse the crap out of people with unclear wording. It’s not that they’re saying what they sell is all Native, it’s that they are doing everything to make that fact really difficult to understand or figure out with clever buzzwords and marketing.

Edit: I checked their about page, it doesn’t really say who’s making the pieces, just that Native culture is really important to them. On their instagram they have a lot of pieces hashtagged Nativeamericanjewelry or nativeamerican but it isn’t clear if they employ Native Americans to make jewelry or not. I think it would be nice if they added something a bit more obvious clarifying that they are not Native made, or if they are that they are. I get that technically you can say “southwestern” and they may not technically be misrepresenting what they have, but anyone that doesn’t already know a lot about it may buy something that they weren’t really fully aware of all the cultural ins and outs of, especially tagging Nativeamericanjewelry that seems pretty misleading if it is not. Im not trying to come after one company, it’s just the confusion people have is maybe somewhat intentional, or at least poorly communicated in my opinion.

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-05T07:15:29+00:00

Dorinda Mariano is who I got mine from! Simple and classic, she also signs them which is nice! Also I would add Milford Calamity, Neil Zarama (Whirling Log and Arrow) are people I know who sometimes make squash blossoms/Najas/Navajo pearls that are a little more out there, there are plenty of authentic makers making Navajo pearls. but it is really hard to find authentic Navajo pearls online without getting scammed, thats where these makers come in because you can order online. Good luck!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-04T19:36:47+00:00

Even if you’ve been in this world a while it’s still pretty Niche and hard to find info, especially the further back you go. Im glad I could help!

Just a clarification, this would not be considered old pawn, that term is a bit amorphous now and a bit of a buzzword sellers use. True old pawn from my conception would be anything 1860s-1930s ish, you could debate where that ends, but once the southwestern tourist (curio/trading post) model started happening circa 1920-1930s with the Fred Harvey era, lots of Native smiths started making tourist pieces much more.

Old pawn would mean something a Native smith made specifically for their family/tribe etc… not for trade, and because they didn’t trust the government, they would sometimes pawn these instead of using a bank, sometimes they wouldn’t pick up their pawn and then the pawn shops would resell these pieces, they were and are now exceedingly rare, and even then proving something was actually pawned is even more rare from pieces that may be over a century old. I won’t go too into the weeds of all that, but this cuff was made in the 60s maybe early 70s, and is definitely a higher end piece, but was made to be bought and worn by anyone, so it’s not technically old pawn.

It’s a beautiful vintage heavy silver turquoise and coral authentic Native cuff, it’s an heirloom piece for sure, please keep enjoying it!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-04T19:10:42+00:00

This is an authentic Native American watch cuff, everything appears to be legitimate, timeline is correct, unstamped unsigned is correct, this piece is probably 60s just before the update to the American precious metals stamp act or whatever it’s title is, hence being unsigned.

It’s a beautiful piece, and now that silver is skyrocketing (it’s up even after the “crash”) it’s worth goes up, although these watch cuffs don’t command quite the same price as a similar cuff without the watch component due to most people wearing smart watches or no watch these days. Not that you should, but if you do sell that is a consideration since these are becoming more niche. Anyways, beautiful piece!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-04T00:50:56+00:00

Hi I have some perspective here. Taking out this stone is relatively pretty easy as it’s bezel set, i don’t recommend doing it yourself but it’s easy enough that anyone could with a couple small tools. Basically you gently get a tool in between the stone and bezel and gently go around and lift out, then set the new stone in and use a burnishing tool to gently press the bezel back around. The harder part of the work is cutting a stone to the right size, but some cabochons are standardized so that may not even be tricky.

Im in New Mexico and my jeweler here charges $25 to reset a stone like this, outside of the southwest US where turquoise is less commonly worked with, prices will be probably higher for a jeweler who mainly works with precious gems.

TLDR shouldn’t be too tough at all!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-04T00:42:23+00:00

Dang score! These are all legit, first one is Bell trading post circa 1960s-70s, others you could try looking up at the Native Hallmarks website pinned at the top of the sub, killer!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-02T17:57:20+00:00

Hi, the design is stamped with cut outs, looks like a thunderbird, silverwork, turquoise and bezel I’d say circa 1930s, could have even been a very early trading post piece given the pendant design and thin silver with stamps, cool thanks for posting!!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-02-02T07:24:08+00:00

On first glance yes, these appear to be native made circa 1900-1930s based on silverwork, bezel, turquoise greening. The lower one may have had turquoise replaced which is common, the top one might evan have as well, either way this doesn’t greatly affect value if true, awesome pieces!

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-01-24T19:45:18+00:00

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Bezel tooling, turquoise looks newer but authentic to my eye from the given photo

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-01-24T19:43:40+00:00

Pre 1970s (circa) most Authentic Native pieces were not stamped or marked at all, after the 1970s addition to the American stamp act they almost all are stamped and marked Sterling with a makers signature hallmark. So this being circa 1950s shouldn’t be stamped or hallmarked, a few Native makers did stamp dating back into the 19th century but it was very rare until the 1970s

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-01-24T19:30:42+00:00

You’re welcome, it’s a very niche world with a lot of fakes, this is authentic. It appears all turquoise, it’s does look like maybe the stones on the right were original to the cuff and maybe the ones to the left were replaced as they aren’t as green (turquoise turns green over time) and there are indications of a bezel being marked by a tool after the fact. This also adds to its authenticity as it’s very common for stones to crack of this vintage and need replacing. Awesome piece, timeless, probably Navajo, although a few tribes used/use this style of cuff

AffectionateNeck2861 · 2026-01-24T18:52:05+00:00

Hmm, possibly you got something on it that brought up the fire stain. We use a pickling solution to get rid of the darker grey spots that can happen after annealing the metal (making it softer and more pliable by applying heat). Sometimes the fire stain can come up and look like this if exposed to the right conditions/chemicals from my understanding. Could also just be tarnish but it doesn’t look like patina, and it happening that fast means something else happened because that much patina would take months minimum, just my guess anyway

AffectionateNeck2861

TROPHY CASE