This ring turned out nice. This particular style has a pretty solid value in terms of vintage turquoise and silver jewelry. Its a cool size for making a statement, lots of silver and even more color. I decided to make a quick blog post because of the interesting way it came into being.
You can see from the pictures this came in a batch of “scrap” silver we picked up on EBAY. Interestingly, several of the rings were never completed. The majority of the incomplete rings appear to have the head cast and the shank stamped then soldered to the top. I like the vintage look and I chose to leave the patina and some of the imperfections on it because it gives it a pretty authentic look and feel. The casting imperfections leave certain clues to how it was built and made.
I give full credit and honor to the original maker, I really am only responsible for inlaying the turquiose. I really feel like its a tragedy for anything like this piece to get melted down as scrap. We are using high grade Kingman Turquoise and Corral, along with some chrysacolla we came across recently. In an effort to stay in my own lane, I try and keep my work differentiated from traditional native american styles, you notice pretty quickly the extra color is pretty non-typical for this style. I don’t claim a native american heritage, but I have termendous respect for native culture and history. I think its important to keep traditions and history alive, if only to foster awareness of how we got where we are today.
All that being said, part of the draw I feel to jewelry making comes from seeing and handling turquoise from my moms collection, most if not all of it created by my grandpa who made quite a bit of silver jewelry. Its funny how some things stick with you, and its hard not to feel like I’m being mentored in this particular pursuit in some ways.
As much as I hate to let it go, this new old ring is up for sale and Christmas is around the corner, drop us a line for the details.