Sandcast Silver & Turquoise Bracelet [SOLD]

The Navajo introduced casting of silver around 1875. The process involved melting silver and then pouring it into a mold, which had previously been carved from sandstone. When cooled and set, the piece required a great deal of filing and smoothing. All of the casting in the earlier days was simple, plain silver. It was not until about 1880 that the first turquoise was set into silver.

The Indians at this time made jewelry for their own use. None was made for commercial sale. In 1899, it is reported that Mr. Herman Schweitzer of the Fred Harvey Company attempted to get jewelry made for his company, from a trader in Thoreau, New Mexico. Apparently, little success attached to this first endeavor, because from 1910 to 1920, Mr. Schweitzer was not getting jewelry from that, or any other source.

This cast bracelet of silver has a beautiful rectangular stone centered at its top. It appears that the bracelet dates to the 1940s or 1950s. One of the curved silver branches of the bracelet has evidence of a pressure crack near a corner of the stone. It appears to have been repaired on the face but is evident on the backside. It is not in danger of breaking, however.