Here's a gorgeous, handmade, spiny oyster & sterling silver bracelet that we purchased from a highly respected pawn trader in northern Arizona. We take a few trips each year to visit this trader because of his extensive knowledge of Native American jewelry and his unquestioned honesty.
This bracelet features an absolutely stunning, triangular shaped, spiny oyster stone that's set in a handmade bezel and is surrounded by a silver twisted rope. The stone is mounted on a hand stamped silver base. The artist adorned the contemporary style, four wire shank with two large silver leaves (one on each side of the stone) and two silver raindrop beads.
The inside of the bracelet measures 5+3/4" long plus there's a gap of 1+1/4". It's 1+7/16" wide at the center and weighs a substantial 76 grams.
The sterling silver shank does have some flexibility, however, due to the positioning of the stone, and the silver applications, we strongly suggest that any size adjustment should be made by a professional silversmith or jeweler.
The back of the bracelet shows parts of the artists hallmark (at both ends of the shank) but we were unable to identify who the artist is. Due to State laws what regulate what information pawn traders can give out we were unable to obtain the artist's name. However, we were told that it was made by a local Navajo artist.
Although we purchased the bracelet as dead pawn it shows absolutely no signs of wear and it certainly appears to be brand new. This is not unusual these days as many artists are having trouble selling their jewelry, due the current economic situation, and they are forced to pawn their new pieces of jewelry for cash so they can put food on the table for their families.
This bracelet will certainly make a fantastic addition to your jewelry collection, or a great gift for that special someone in your life.
