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Recognize Quality Craftsmanship in Native Jewelry
Buying and collectiong Native American jewelry can be a very rewarding experience. However, it is important to understand the difference between handmade vs. mass produced work. You want to ensure that what you are buying is authentic.
"Fabricated" and "Cast"
Know the difference between "fabricated" and "cast". Nowadays you can make a silicon mold of almost anything and easily have a thousand copies made up in a few weeks.
Corn row inlay is inlay that involves the shaping and polish of each stone, like cobble stone.
Imported or not hand crafted: If something seems too good to be true (like what should be a $10,000 piece selling for $150) it probably is! It seems to me there are also honest sellers out there who think they are selling real Native pieces, but are being deceived by their suppliers.
Beads: Is the bead work clean and each bead well-defined? Is bright cutting straight, smooth, crisp, and bright? Gemstone Clarity: Under 10x magnification, look for bubbles, cracks, and inclusions, including dangerous feathers (breaks that reach the surface), that can make the stone vulnerable to breakage. Check facet edges, table, and planes for chips, cracks, and scratches.
Glue: Glue should not be visible on metal or the gemstone or pearl. Also, is the bond intact?
Quality Marks/Trademarks: Are the mark stamped correctly? If a piece has been stamped with a quality mark, does it also contain a trademark?
Solder: Does solder show? Are there gaps in the solder flow? Does color match the piece? Has any tarnish been removed?
Here are some tips on inlay in general: Micro-inlay - The micro inlay I am familiar with is spectacular work done by Navajo inlayers like Clayton Tom and Ervin Tsosie. Jesse Lee Monongye is of Navajo/Hopi descent and does amazing micro-inlay. You will not find any of these artist’s works for sale cheaply, so if you think you do, be careful.
Chip inlay - there is and was a lot of chip inlay being done in Mexico. In general I would say that the Navajo chip inlay is placed piece by piece in the cavity and arranged carefully, fitting pieces together like a mosaic, whereas the Mexican inlay looks like someone dumped a bunch of tiny chips into an area and then poured glue in there. This of course is a generalization, but look for carefully placed inlay and it is probably Navajo.
Turquoise- Only about 10% of turquoise on the market today is natural and untreated.
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