Navajo Cluster Bracelet with 17 Sky Blue Stones [SOLD]

C4109D-bracelet.jpg

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Artist Unknown
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: Diné of the Navajo Nation
  • Medium: Sterling Silver and Turquoise
  • Size: 5-½ end to end; 1-¼” opening; 2” diameter
  • Item # C4109D
  • SOLD

Cluster bracelets were a popular style that Diné silversmiths made for their own use. During the 1940s, artisans made jewelry for tourists and for their own adornment. Generally, their taste leaned towards heavy silver with larger stones. Many times they used their jewelry as a form of collateral at the trading post when they were in need of cash, retrieving the pieces for special occasions.

While the style was not as popular as a souvenir for travelers, local non-native residents recognized the charm and beauty of the heavier pieces and much of this jewelry found its way into the hands of collectors living in the Southwest. This is such a piece. It was purchased by a local Santa Fe resident in the mid-twentieth century for his wife who is now in her 90s.

The bracelet has 17 high-grade stones of a beautiful sky blue. They are set in a symmetrical arrangement in rows of three, each row tapering to fit the shape of the bracelet. Each stone was skillfully set in a handmade bezel. The stones were then placed on a sterling silver platform with small stamped silver drops interspersed between the sky blue cabochons of turquoise. It is a wonderful example of the  high quality craftsmanship of the 1940s and 1950s.

 

Condition: The Navajo Cluster Bracelet with 17 Sky Blue Stones is in excellent condition. It is obvious that this bracelet has been well cared for. Every stone is intact.

Provenance: This necklace was purchased by a Santa Fe medical doctor for his wife decades ago.  She is now in her nineties and is divesting of some of her jewelry.

Note: when we say Diné, as opposed to Navaho or Navajo, we are referring to the people and not the government.  Since 1969, their government refers to itself as the Navajo Nation.  

Artist Unknown
  • Category: Bracelets
  • Origin: Diné of the Navajo Nation
  • Medium: Sterling Silver and Turquoise
  • Size: 5-½ end to end; 1-¼” opening; 2” diameter
  • Item # C4109D
  • SOLD

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