Three-stone Turquoise and Sterling Silver Bracelet [R]

Recycling in the Native jewelry business is a relatively new procedure.  It consists of taking very high quality turquoise stones from a tab necklace and repurposing them in another item of jewelry, overlooking the drill holes as being detrimental.

Much of the early turquoise jewelry had very high quality desirable turquoise.  The stones used in older nugget necklaces were sometimes drilled off center, as are the two stones on the outer edges of this bracelet.  The center stone was drilled in its center. The combination of the three stones is perfect for this bracelet.

The framework of the bracelet is three round heavy silver wires spread apart at the top of the bracelet, soldered together at their ends, and capped with silver.  The most amazing silver work appears on top of the bracelet surrounding each turquoise stone. Each stone is surrounded by silver rope at the base of the bezel.  Individual silver drops have been combined into elaborate designs around each of the three stones to form an eye-catching display.

The bracelet is probably from the early part of the 20^th century, maybe 1920s or so. It is an excellent bracelet with excellent turquoise.

Condition: excellent condition

Recommended Reading: Indian Silver Jewelry of the Southwest: 1868-1930 by Larry Frank and Millard Holbrook

Provenance: from a private collection