Bracelets

This sterling silver baby bracelet was made by Navajo jeweler, Elton Cadman.  There are three turquoise stones that have twisted wire around the bezel.  What a sweet and memorable gift for baby!  We figure it would fit up to a year old child.

Size: 4" with .5" opening

Navajo jeweler, Judy Lincoln, made this delicate sterling silver bracelet that, depending on the size of the little one's wrist, will fit a baby or toddler.  There are two spirals, one on each side of the sparkling blue opal.  The silver is flexible, and can be manipulated to fit the wrist.  However, it will break after repeated times being bent, so the best bet is to fit it on the write so that is can go and off easily and not bend it again until it becomes to small.

Size: 3.5" with 1.125" opening

Navajo Jeweler, Janice Spencer, made this sterling silver baby bracelet with a little bear paw and turquoise.  The opening is wide and can be easily adjusted for the baby's wrist.  Bears are called upon for healing at all levels and protection.  Perfect for a baby!

Size: 3.25" with 1.25" opening

Simple Navajo elegance.  Can you see the butterfly in this sterling silver cuff bracelet?  The lines are sleek, smooth, and highly polished.  Stamped "Sterling" on the inside.  Rounded ends make it easy to get on and off.  

Size: 5" L x 1.25" Opening x 1.5" W

Zuni jeweler, Leander Othole, inlaid gold lip Mother of Pearl, jet, natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise, and natural red coral into a butterfly shape in the center of this cuff bracelet.  Even the narrow black lines are cut and inlaid jet!  The golden sheen didn't show up well in the photos, but it does shimmer gold.  The sterling silver quadruple shanks end in a silver cap, making it easy to put on and take off.  Leander inscribed his name on the inside.  More about Zuni inlay below.

Size: 5.5" Long with 1.25" Opening

This type of Zuni inlay is made by sawing out two pieces of silver into the desired shape.  Thin pieces of sterling silver are soldered onto the base to create frames for the stones to be laid in.  The stones are then cut, shaped, and placed into the areas that have been framed like a puzzle to create the design.  The piece is then sanded and   polished.  This type of jewelry making is difficult and involved, which is why we do not see too many jewelers making it anymore.

Made by a member of the well known Navajo Tahe family, this copper bracelet is beautiful!  Nestled between two copper wires is twisted wire surrounding a hand-stamped center.  

Size: 5.25" L with 1" Opening

This vintage, sterling silver bracelet was included in a collection of vintage and antique Native American jewelry.  We aren't sure if it was Native American made or not, but we estimate it was made between 1950 and 1980.  The silverwork is beautiful with many creative details, including twisted wire and stamp work.  The petrified wood stone has depth, making it very interesting.  It was made for a smaller wrist.  Since we aren't sure who made it, we've priced it low.  It is a beauty!

Size: 5.125" L x .875" Opening

Zuni jewelers, Anson and Leticia Wallace, inlaid a rainbow of  natural stones into this thin bracelet.  The stones include Mother of Pearl, natural red coral, natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise, jet, gold lip Mother of Pearl, lapis, and abalone.  "ALW" and "Sterling" are stamped on the inside.

Size: 5.75" with 1.25" opening

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this simple sterling silver cuff bracelet and hand-stamped designs on it.  This bracelet could be your everyday bracelet or a gift that you would make you happty to see on a friend or loved one.  Stamped "Tahe" and "Sterling" inside. 

Size: 5.75" Diameter x .875" Opening x .25" W

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this sterling silver bracelet.  In between the silver wires are two twisted silver wires.  Sterling silver caps both ends making it easy to get on and off.  

Size: 5.25" L with 1.125" Opening

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this sterling silver twisted wire bangle.  The pattern catches the light in a lovely ways.  What we like about bangles is they don't have to be taken off and on every day.  You can just leave them on.

Size: 7.875" Circumference - 2.5" Diameter

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this sterling silver bracelet.  In between the silver wires are four twisted silver wires.  Sterling silver caps both ends making it easy to get on and off.  

Size: 5.25" L with 1.125" Opening

This substantial sterling silver bracelet is stamped JM on the inside.  It is impeccably crafted with twisted wire on the top and bottom encircling thirty-four domes.  It's a beauty!

Size: 6" inside length with 1.125 opening & .875" wide

Navajo jeweler, Larson Lee, placed a sky blue natural Kingman turquoise in the setting of this sterling silver bracelet.  The cuff is a triple split shank.  The bezel has twisted wire around the base.

Size: 5.5" with .75" opening

So pretty with the flower and leaves with vines around the stones.  There are five lovely amethyst stones that catch the light on this sterling silver bracelet.  Navajo handmade.  The silver is flexible enough to get a first good fit so it can be put on and off easily!

Size: 5.25" with .75" opening

Five natural Kingman turquoise nuggets adorn this vintage Navajo bracelet.  The silver is heavy gage and made to last!  Each stone is its own world.  The band is double shank with twisted silver wire between them.  After the last stone on each side is a hand-stamped sun.  "N" stamped inside.

Size: 5.75" with 1.125" opening - Center stone .875 diameter

Zuni jeweler, Larry Loretto, made this stunning channel inlay, natural red coral bracelet.  There are 44 "bricks" of coral.  The bracelet weighs 2 ounces, a good weight.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  Stamped "LORETTO" and "STERLING" inside.  More about channel inlay below.

Size: 6" Long with 1.5" Opening

Channel inlay jewelry is a process used extensively by Native American jewelers, particularly those in Zuni Pueblo.  Many other talented jewelers from other tribes in the Southwest also make channel inlay jewelry.  The metal channel, usually silver, is soldered onto the back to create the design.  Afterward, the stones are cut to fit into each section.  It is an exacting process which shows in the beauty of the work of the finished piece(s).

This Navajo handmade sterling silver bracelet has a gorgeous natural Egyptian turquoise set in the center.  The setting has twisted silver wire around the bezel, and precise cutouts in the surrounding silver.  "NJ" is stamped inside.

Size: 5.375" Long with 1" Opening - Turquoise setting is 1" H x .75" W

Navajo jeweler, Elton Cadman, made this delicate sterling silver bracelet that, depending on the size of the little one's wrist, will fit a baby or toddler.  He sent a sparkling opal in the center of the simple setting.  The silver is flexible, and can be manipulated to fit the wrist. 

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this simple sterling silver bracelet and hand-stamped designs that resemble the rays of the sun.

Size: 4" L  with .75" opening

Navajo jeweler, Elton Cadman, made this sweet sterling silver baby bracelet.  It has a bright blue turquoise stone set in the simple setting.  A nice, memorable gift for baby!

Size: 3.25" with 1.25" opening

Navajo jeweler, Judy Lincoln, made this delicate sterling silver bracelet that, depending on the size of the little one's wrist, will fit a baby or toddler.  There are two spirals, one on each side of the turquoise.  The silver is flexible, and can be manipulated to fit the wrist.  However, it will break after repeated times being bent, so the best bet is to fit it on the write so that is can go and off easily and not bend it again until it becomes to small.

Size: 3.5" with 1.125" opening

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this bracelet of braided sterling silver.  What we like about bangles is they don't have to be taken off and on every day.  You can just leave them on.

Size: 7.875" Diameter

Navajo jeweler, Elaine Tahe, made this gracefully twisted sterling silver bracelet.  The way the silver is twisted catches the light.  What we like about bangles is they don't have to be taken off and on every day.  You can just leave them on.

Size: 7.875" Diameter

This lovely Navajo tufa cast bracelet has a natural Morenci turquoise stone set in the center.  The stone sits in the middle of a sunburst with "wings" on each side.  This bracelet was part of a collection of older Native American jewelry.  We estimate that it was made in the 1950s or 1960s.  More about the process of tufa cast jewelry making below.

Size: 5" Long with 1.5" Opening x 1.5" Wide - Stone .5" x .25"

This classic, vintage, sterling silver, tufa cast bracelet is graced with a natural Bisbee turquoise in the center.  More about tufa cast jewelry below.  We think it may be from the 1940s or 1950s.  The form is so graceful.  It has been very lightly cleaned to keep the beautiful patina that comes with age. This is a real beauty!

Size: 5.125" L with 1.5" Opening x 2.125" W - Stone .75" H x .675" W

Tufa Cast: Tufa is a volcanic stone which can be as dense as chalk and has an organic texture. The first thing a jeweler does is examine a piece of tufa for any tiny fractures.  If it looks good, the tufa is cut in half and, if there is a design, it is carved in reverse into the tufa.   There is a pour hole carved into the top and several narrow vents carved into each side.  The two pieces are then bound together tightly and molten silver or gold is poured through the hole at the top.  If there are any microscopic cracks, the tufa explodes when the metal is poured in and the process has to begin again. 

This vintage sterling silver, tufa cast bracelet has a natural Morenci or Lone Mountain turquoise set in the center (according to our resident turquoise expert).  It was definitely made for a small wrist.  It is stamped EA on the back and we think it might have been made by Navajo jeweler, Evelyn Abeita, in the 1960s or 1970s.  It has been very lightly polished to maintain the patina that comes with age. 

Size: 5" L with 1.125" Opening x 1.125" W - Stone .675" Diameter

The natural Candelaria turquoise stones in this bracelet are the colors of the Caribbean sea with stunning with golden matrix.  It was made in the 1960s or 1970s and has the patina that comes with older silver jewelry. The three stones are set in bezels that are beautifully detailed with oxidized parts that set off of the twisted silver wire, and are set on triple split shank cuff.  "JJ" and "Sterling" are stamped behind the largest stone.

Size: 5" Long with 1" Opening - Largest stone setting is 1.75" H x 1.25" W

Zuni jeweler, Gerald Etsate, made this stunning sterling silver traditional needlepoint bracelet and set forty four natural red coral stones in it.  The silverwork is gorgeous with twisted  wire and silver ball accents.  You don't see these very often these days!  It is signed "G.Etsate" on the back.

Size: 5.5" with 1.25" Opening.  Center setting is 2.25" H x 2.5" W, Side settings are 1.125" H x .75" W

It takes thousands of years for red coral to grow, and much of it has been over harvested.  Some of the natural red coral fields are protected to allow them to recover.  What is available goes up in price every year.  If you love red coral, now is the time to invest in it.

The stones in this bracelet are impressive natural Fox turquoise.  The color is a bit darker and bluer than the photo.  The stones sit in shadowbox settings,with an elegant silver band around the bale.  The cuff is made of triple triangular shaped sterling silver.  It is a stunning piece of jewelry.  "M. Spencer" and "Sterling" are stamped on the back.

Size: 5.5" with 1" opening.  Center stone setting is 1.875" H x 1.5" wide.  The stone settings on each side are 1.675" H x 1.5" W