Native American Jewelry – Please Help Me Describe and Price My Jewelry

Dear Paula,

I have a really unusual squash blossom necklace. I’ve owned it for over 40 years and was told then that the pale turquoise came from a Colorado mine.  the metal is pewter. the crown has 5 stones. the stems the stones are out of the beads.
I’ve reached a point a have to sell my jewelry so need help identifying the pieces.
Thank you. Ellie

Hi Ellie,

I’m going to illustrate our conversation with some examples of Vintage Squash Blossom necklaces that are in our Pawn Shop (such as the one above, for example) so as to preserve the privacy of your piece as we chat about it.

I’ve received the photos of your necklace that you sent and I shared them with 3 of my colleagues who have been in the Native American Jewelry business for over 150 years collectively !!

We’ve never heard of a Native American squash blossom necklace made from pewter.

Do you have any recollection as to the name of the mine in Colorado the stones are from?

Are there any cracks in the stones?

What do you want for the necklace? Paula

Good morning Paula,

I’m happy you received the photos.

There are no cracks in any stones

What a leading question how much do I want, Well I want as much as I can get.

1st I would like to know who is the artist.

2nd is there away to find the history of the necklace?

I bought the necklace in 1970 from a shop in Arcadia, CA , the owners

wife was Navajo For several years I bought lots of goodies.  Around 1980 I wore it to the Indian pow wow at the Pomona Fair grounds, and it caused quit a stir was offered up to $1500.00 from different Indians that had selling booths.

Of course I said no, it was my savings account.

I thought I would try to get between $750.00-to $900. And work down from that.

3rd the jeweler said it was pewter, do you think so it’s verrrry heavy.??

As for which mine, all I remember my husband looked it up and said I don’t think she’s (the store owner) right they had closed that  mine in 1902.

Also can you suggest books giving silversmith marks?

Hope this isn’t to long winded. Ellie

Hi Ellie,

As to who the artist it……I would have no way of knowing the artist. Your best bet is to try to trace the history and artist from the shop or owner you purchased it from.

It is a very simple common design that many artists back then used, so it would be difficult to try to attribute it to any one person’s style.

The best way to find the history of the necklace is to contact the store where you purchased it. Or if that store is gone, a store nearby that might have been there at the same time.

As far as what metal it is made of, I can’t tell definitely from a photo. We have a used Native American jewelry store on our website so we test items daily for their silver content. It is a simple chemical test that any jeweler can do for you. I’d suggest you do that first – take it to a jeweler and ask him or her to tell you if it is sterling silver or has any silver in it. If it has some silver it it, it might be coin silver. If it has no silver in it, then the jeweler might be able to guess what metal it is by seeing it in person.

You asked about hallmarks – I didn’t see any silver smith marks on the necklace – are there any? They would usually be stamped on the back of the naja.

I mention a book about hallmarks in this post – Native American Hallmarks

 

Vintage Squash Blossom Necklace with Hallmarks “FY Sterling”

 

Dear Paula,

There are no hallmarks.

The store is closed, in fact the whole area is one big mall now.

Did you find out anything about the mine?

Ellie

Hi Ellie,

FYI – I sent the close up pic of YOUR squash blossom to a friend who has been in the business for 30-40 years and asked if he thought it could be Dry Creek which is kind of light blue and was the only mine I knew of that produced the pale turquoise…………..here is his reply – do any of those Colorado mine names sound familiar that he mentions?

From the look of the beads, I would say that this was made in the 70’s, or is a good copy.  Dry Creek TQ was not really around at that time, coming into usage in the late 80’s to mid 90’s.  Is it possible to be Dry Creek – yes, just not as likely perhaps, and Dry Creek turquoise is from Nevada.  The Colorado mines were Lick Skillet also called Manassa, Cripple Creek. Leadville, Villa Grove, and a few minor others.  I am a little suspicious that this is Colorado TQ

Dear Paula

I bought the necklace in May of 1969.  And so your friend is probably correct it was new at that time. What do you think the value is?

Hi Ellie,

Well, it is like anything else, if you find someone who really wants it, they will pay more than if you just want to sell it quickly. So it might take time to find the right buyer.

Here is something that might be helpful for you to do.

Go to eBay and do a search for Native American squash blossom necklaces – if you need help on how to do that, let me know.

Browse what is FOR SALE now.

Then click on Advanced Search and choose the option “Completed listings” and you will see some that are sold (green numbers) some are not sold (red numbers) so you will see what people are asking, what people are actually buying and what auctions close without any bids.

The completed listings search is more valuable as it shows if there was any interest in a piece and if so, how much it brought if it sold – or was a NO SALE.

You’ve probably also visited our pawn shop and looked at all the squash blossom necklaces we have for sale and sold, right? That will also help you set a price.

Here they are – the ones for sale are on this page

Squash Blossom Necklaces for Sale

and the ones we have sold are on this page

Squash Blossom Necklaces that are SOLD

Here are a few more examples

 

Another example of a vintage squash blossom necklace

 

 

Vintage Bear Claw Squash Blossom Necklace

Best of luck, Paula

Thank you Paula,

Thank you very much for your input. Your sites have also been very useful. – they are very nice sites. Peaceful photographs are much appreciated.

Ellie