Are these items even Native American made?

Hi Paula
I am trying to find out any information about the two necklaces in the attached photo, like which Native American tribe may have made them (if they are indeed genuinely made by a Native American). It seems like you may be quite knowledgable about these things so if you have any ideas I’d love to hear them!
Kind regards
Heidi

Hi Heidi,

Thank you. I am very interested and immersed in my work so I have gathered some knowledge about Native American jewelry over the years but there is so much more to know.  That’s why I like to post these questions here on this blog to attract comments from others.

The necklace on the right certainly seems like it could be Navajo made. It has the look of a sterling silver necklace, simple but similar in layout to a squash blossom necklace. When I enlarge the photo, the beads seem to be hand made, not bench beads. It is a very nice necklace which I feel pretty certain would have been Navajo made.

The necklace on the left however, although very attractive, does not seem to be Native American made. The first thing that caught my eye was the brass beads which say India to me. The horizontal brass spacers between the brass beads are also not a design element associated with Native American jewelry. It seems the long dark beads and the shorter tube beads are made from horn or bone, again something I’d tend to associate with India or Africa. The rondelle beads which make up the majority of the necklace also could be bone……or perhaps they and the shorter tube beads are some sort of ivory. These things are hard to tell from a single photo.

Of course, many things can be determined definitively when viewing an item in person – using one photo is just guesswork.

It will be interesting to see what other readers think.

Paula

More Heishi Fit Notes – Choosing the Correct Length

When buying heishi necklaces, first you need to know how the artist or seller measures their heishi necklaces.

Many heishi makers sell their heishi by length of material used, so 19″ of turquoise heishi might be sold as 19″ …………but with a hook and eye and the bit of slack incorporated in the necklace to make it hang right, the actual necklace wearing length might be closer to 19 3/4″.

For chokers especially, each of us has a particular length we like to wear that suits our physique and clothing necklines. That’s when measurement become particularly important.

Here at horsekeeping, we measure from the tip of the hook to the eye on the other end. That represents the actual end-to-end wearing length.

This results in most thin to medium heishi fitting well……..

but when you are purchasing very thick heishi, necklaces that are 3/8″ thick or more, you should compensate and purchase a necklace that is 1/4″ to 3/4″ longer than your usual length. That’s because the thicker heishi sits away from your neck so some of the end-to-end length is taken up to make the circle around your neck.

The same principle applies to Navajo Pearls. If you wear an 18″ 4mm silver bead necklace, when buying a 14 mm necklace, you might need almost a 19″ long if you want it to sit in the same place on your neckline.

We provide measurements. The best way to get a good fit is to measure a similar necklace you already have that fits you well and compare it to the measurements indicated for the item.

Here’s to beautiful, well-fitting heishi !

Paula

What mine is this turquoise from and what is the value of this squash blossom necklace?

Hello Paula,

All of the black matrix you see contains pyrite; some dark spots in the photo are exclusively pyrite. Most are mixed with the black matrix, however. Notice the quarter for size comparison. All the stones rise at least 1/8″ above their settings, and some rise as high as 1/4″ or higher. Amazing, right? The earrings appear to have hand engraved rising suns on them (the suns are not identical, causing me to think they were hand carved, however they may have been distorted during the shaping of the petals?). I love this necklace so much, as both my folks have passed. Knowing they wanted me to have it makes me feel very blessed.

I sent you the photo in natural undirected sunlight, but I also took a couple pics in direct sunlight around 8:00 this morning, before the skies became overcast (we’re expecting freezing rain here in northwest Ohio this evening. great). If you want me to send a photo of the piece in direct sunlight, I can. The pyrite shows up better in the sun.

Much to my delight, I rediscovered the Fred Harvey bracelet my parents gave me as a child, and set it next to the necklace for you to look at as well. I had a copper one also, but I hated it, and either traded it for a plastic animal with one of my childhood friends or threw it out altogether. Regrets!!!

If you venture a guess on the value of these pieces as you try to determine the mine this turquoise is from, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Sydney

Good morning Sydney,

Beautiful sentimental treasure.

Without seeing it in person, I can’t say for sure, but I’d narrow it down to Blue Diamond, Kingman or Morenci.

We don’t appraise or give value from photos.

Enjoy ! That’s the main thing. Turquoise has a great power and feel to it.

I’m going to post the photo of your necklace on my blog so if anyone else has other ideas on the stones, they can chime in.

Paula

Dear Paula,

Thank you so much for your input, I appreciate it very much. Per your knowledge of turquoise and my further research, I am pretty sure the stones in my squash blossom necklace are from the Blue Diamond hat mine. I’m pretty happy about that. I knew it started production in the 1950′s and stopped in the 80′s. The mine is now buried under thousands of tons of rock, making Blue Diamond turquoise highly collectible today.

In the descriptions I’ve read, Blue Diamond is known for the triangular-shaped black chert, which is readily seen in the stones of my necklace. This is why I believe my stones are Blue Diamond. Plus, the pyrite is not silver colored as in the Kingman turquoise. Morenci turquoise doesn’t exhibit the black chert so recognizable in Blue Diamond. So, by process of elimination, I have concluded my squash blossom stones are Blue Diamond turquoise.

It will be interesting to read the input from your blog after you post the photo of the necklace. I’m no expert, but as in all things, when I become interested in something, I become a super sleuth until my desire for knowledge has been satiated. I too welcome your readers’ input.

Thank you for indulging me with this sleuthing, it’s been much fun, and of course I love the products on Horsekeeping,com.

Blessings,

Sydney

Hooks on Native American Necklaces

Dear Paula,

I foolishly went to bed last night with my new coral necklace hooked around my neck.

I woke up in the morning and it was gone.

I could have lost it at the shops as I was in and out of bed trying to get to sleep and then we went to the shops late last night, I have searched all the crevices of my room and all places and it is just gone.

That hook they use at the back, I should have bent it shut if I wanted to leave it on, that’s what I do with my other hooks or I should have just taken it off before I go to bed.

What a shame! I scrimped and saved for that necklace and I so loved it, it was one-of a kind vintage!

Please get back to me any advice you do have about those hooks they use, and please help me for next time!

Thanks, Ruby

PS  My adopted Dad just found it! I am so pleased!  It was in between the doorway of my room and the hall way.

I have bent the hook shut, and can take it off over my head when I shower.

Any advice would still be appreciated.

Thanks

Love Ruby

Hi Ruby, Phew !! That’s good news. Yes, bend the hook shut like you did – that’s what most people do who want to take a necklace on and off over their heads. Traditionally the hooks are left open at first because some people have arthritis or other difficulty with their hands and need a big open hook in order to get it fastened.

Usually when a necklace is hanging straight down it won’t come unfastened. I can see where it would come off if you wore it to bed. But like you found, it is easy to squish the hook closed for more security.

Paula

Turquoise Inlay Navajo Pearls

I received a beautiful set of vintage sterling silver and turquoise Navajo Pearls last year  – They are inscribed with “MW” on a hallmark disk.

This is the first necklace like this I’ve seen so I asked some friends who have been in the NA jewelry business their whole lives about the necklace and thought I’d share what they said.

I was told the beads were made by in the mid 1970s by Navajo silversmith Martha Wilson and the inlay was done by a Zuni artist, Rosemary White.  Martha Wilson worked out of the Bluewater Lake area.  Has anyone else seen Navajo Pearls like this?  Paula

Cleaning Vintage Native American Jewelry

We often get vintage pieces in that have a wonderful patina but also a dash of Alfredo sauce or leftover silver polish in the nooks and crannies.

So how do we clean while preserving the endearing patina?

When we sell vintage pieces, we usually just leave them as is so the new owner can clean them to their personal taste.

But if there is dirt and debris in the stamping or silver work, we remove that. Usually a dry toothbrush and a wooden toothpick is all that is needed.

Loosen debris with a wooden toothpick

Brush with a dry toothbrush

Brushed clean

With my personal more contemporary sterling silver pieces (no stones), if I want to restore a brilliant shine, I either buff with a polishing cloth or use the procedure outlined in “Richard’s Method”.

IMPORTANT NOTE !! Great care should be taken when cleaning any sterling silver piece with stones. The pieces should NEVER be soaked as this would swell the backing (which is often sawdust or leather) and pop the stones out of their settings or damage them.

For sterling silver jewelry with stones and for pieces that I want to retain much of the vintage patina, I usually use a simple wash, dry and light hand buff combo. I use ordinary liquid hand soap (not antibacterial – something more like liquid Ivory) on a cloth or soft toothbrush to loosen debris and clean both the front and back of bracelets and pendants.  Then I rinse it well but carefully, avoiding the stone settings.  I follow this with a thorough drying and then token hand buffing with a silver polishing cloth. I stop at the point where the item is clean but still has its character.

I use a polishing cloth to maintain the shine in my new beads but if the oxidation gets ahead of me, I spritz them with Windex, taking care not to use too much because I don’t want it to run into the holes. I lightly spritz one section and then wipe right away. Less is more.

Because Old Town Trading Company was in the process of restringing an old squash blossom necklace for me (the subject of a future blog on repair), the topic of cleaning came up and here is what Diane of OTTP said:

While your necklace is disassembled, we’d like to wash the naja and blossoms. As you are definitely in favor of original patina, I want to explain this and get your approval first. I meet many, many people who do not want the surface of their silver touched in any way, not even to be cleaned. To me, there is a big difference in being “cleaned”, being “polished”, and being “buffed”. It’s mostly semantics, but I think there is a lot of confusion about what might be the best way to treat a piece of jewelry.

To me, buffing is something done with a buffing machine, in the shop. Buffing actually smooths the surface of the silver, and removes all those tiny fine lines and scratches that create the soft, beautiful look of a well worn piece. With very few exceptions, I don’t like to see anything buffed. The exceptions would be for pieces that are very contemporary or have a very bad scratch that detracts from the piece. A very few people like their pieces buffed smooth, regardless of the age or history of the piece.

Tiny fine lines and scratches can be replicated by working the surface with steel wool, but a trained eye will spot it every time. It can look nice, but it’s not “patina”… If a piece must be hot soldered for a repair, it must go through the buffing process – no way around it. Our smiths are awesome, but that is one of their biggest challenges – hot soldering on a vintage piece and retaining the “look”.

Polishing is using a chemical agent to clean the blackened tarnish from a piece of silver. Polishing (in my phraseology) doesn’t remove the scratches at all, but it can remove the oxidation that may have been applied to enhance the design of a piece. Oxidation can be very successfully reapplied (chemically) BUT most polishes will leave nasty residues in all the lovely details of this beautiful handmade stuff. The residue turns white or green or pink.  One of the few chemical “polishers” that doesn’t leave a residue (Tarnax) will actually dissolve turquoise and coral, among other things. I can’t tell you how many Tarnax victims we’ve repaired here. Polishing with any of this chemical stuff is really intended only for flatter manufactured pieces, like silverware, and even then, just cleaning it will frequently work better.

So, my favorite and most suggested technique is cleaning. A good washing (done properly, of course) will remove all the gunk, label residue, polish residue, grime, dust, cookie dough (yes we’ve removed that) and any other surface stuff that “shouldn’t be there”. The result is a piece that still has all the fine scratches, oxidation, and beauty (the “patina”) of an old piece, but it will show with a beautiful true silver glow, instead of a flat yellow gray appearance. In my opinion, it really enhances the piece.

We generally wash using the Tide Detergent technique (listed in the comments following the Richard’s Method article) and a soft toothbrush. Then we dry very thoroughly with a cloth which creates just a little bit of a glow.

We don’t wash beads, because they’re too hard to dry out properly. We would wipe them with a cotton glove only.

Navajo Pearls – Why are the heavier beads less expensive?

Good morning Paula,

I am interested in your Navajo Pearl necklaces. I was wondering why the Lilian Yazzie 16-10 mm graduated necklace (BD757) costs $345 @68 grams while her 20 inch 9mm necklace @55grams costs over $100 more (priced at $460)?  Lori

Navajo Sterling Silver Beads by Lily Yazzie
Graduated 10mm – 16mm
Stamped; Adjustable; 68 grams; $345

Navajo Sterling Silver Beads by Lily Yazzie
Stamped; 9mm; 20″; 55 grams
$460

Hi Lori,

Good question and not the first time someone has asked.

Our prices are really dictated by what the artist asks for at item and it will be based on WHEN we bought an item.

So some items we purchased 3 years ago will be less expensive than the same or an even “lesser” (weight) item item today based on the silver price.

The only time we raise prices is when we go to replenish our supply of a certain item and the artist has raised their price since the last time we purchased from them.

We like to leave items at their “old prices” so people can find bargains. You’ll see what I mean if you visit either the silver or stone bracelet pages – you will see some bracelets between $100 and $200 that we bought several years ago and we’ve left them at their old price. On the same group page you will see similar bracelets priced over $100 more – those are the ones we bought this year !!

Thanks for the question and I hope you find some Navajo Pearls you like!!

 Paula

Necklace Extenders

Paula,

I love my 17 1/2″ silver bead necklace as a choker but sometimes I want to wear it over a collar or longer with a pendant. Do you have something I can use to make it longer?

Kary

Hi Kary,

We have a few sterling silver necklace extenders. Depending on what kind of necklace you have and how long you want to lengthen it, perhaps one of the following would be helpful.

If you have a bench bead necklace that is approximately 9mm, perhaps something like this 8 bead  extender might work. It is 3 3/4″ long.

An 8 bead 9 mm sterling silver bench bead necklace extender

We also have some chain extenders that would work with any necklace.

Sterling silver chain extender for necklaces

Some necklace come with a chain already on them. But having a separate chain extender allows you to use it with any necklace.

AND what is also very good about using a chain extender like this is that  you can make small adjustments in length to get the necklace (or pendant) to hang at just the right spot.

Antiqued Satin Finish Navajo Pearls are Here – How they are made

When we ran out of our antiqued satin finish Navajo Pearls, many of you requested more but we had a hard time finding someone to make them for us. Finally we got a few more in !!

They are perfectly fine to wear alone whether you’re in jeans or dressed up……AND they also make a great place to hang pendants !

6 mm Antiqued Satin Finish Sterling Silver Beads

These antiqued satin finish beads are made by starting with a bench made sterling silver bead. What is a bench made bead?

Handmade (hand made) beads are entirely hand crafted: cutting, stamping, dapping, drilling, soldering, filing, polishing, stringing is all done by hand. Hand made beads are very labor intensive, therefore much more expensive than bench made beads. Also, when taking the time to make beads by hand, Navajo silversmiths generally use heavy gauge sterling silver, which also adds to the price. Handmade Native American beads are the most cherished and desired by customers. Because each bead is made individually, there might be slight variations from bead to bead.

Bench made Beads (also known as Bench Beads) usually refer to beads that are partially manufactured and partially hand made. Usually the silversmith starts with some machine cut pieces, which are then soldered and strung by hand.

Excerpt from  Everything You Need to Know about Navajo Pearls

A bench made bead has a little ridge around its equator. The bench beads are antiqued, then satin finished and then the ridge on the bead seam is polished. That’s what gives them their characteristic look.

Bench made beads that have been antiqued, satin finished, and edges polished.

Black and Silver Bead Necklace – Help Me Identify Please

Hi Paula, a few months about I emailed pics of a necklace I owned and wanted to know if you could tell me something about it.  Hadn’t heard back and thought I would try again.  I can email photos, but the make up of the necklance is silver beads and black beads that seem to not be stone or glass.  They actually seem to be plastic.  The chain is silver along with the Sheild with feathers.  But I don’t see a mark. Thank you for any help you can offer. Eileen

Hi Eileen,

Yeah I usually run about 2 months behind on answering questions, then Christmas came and I got even behinder !

Well it is hard to say for sure from a photo, but as soon as you said plastic, I thought acoma jet because it is very lightweight and sometimes is mistaken for plastic by people who haven’t seen or handled any jet items before.  If the silver is sterling silver, I would bet the black beads are acoma jet.

If the silver is just silver tone metal, then it could be that the black beads are plastic.

The silver beads and end findings do look Native American style. The round beads look like bench made old style necklace beads.

Without seeing it in person or being able to test it for sterling and without any hallmarks, that is about the best I can do !

Paula