Care and feeding of your vintage silver and turquoise

November 29, 2019

I am frequently asked about the best way to care for vintage silver and turquoise jewelry so I am happy to offer a few suggestions to insure the beauty and collectability of your historic southwest pieces:

1. NEVER use silver polish on your old jewelry! First and foremost it will remove all of the patina and stories about its past, such as who wore it, where its been and what is has experienced!

2. Use a small clean toothbrush and warm water to lightly brush the debris from the jewelry on the top side and under side of the piece.

3. Turquoise is a porous stone and will dry out if not taken care of over time. I suggest that using the natural oils in your skin will be an excellent way to feed the stones. I simply run the stones along my forehead, cheek or nose, to add a natural luster to the stones. A Hopi friend and jeweler has suggested that crushed watermelon seeds produce an oil that has been used for centuries to feed the stones. I have yet to try that method but look forward to the attempt next summer.

Do you want to know more about Southwest historic art? Send us an email or text and we’d be glad to post an answer that we can all learn from!

How you you tell if a piece is really old and just not made to look old?

November 27, 2019

My friend and client Sandra in Arizona asks a great question! In regards to jewelry there are a number of very talented artists, native and anglo, who are making quality silver and turquoise jewelry using the older methods, tools and designs. Many of these artists honor the traditions of the Navajo and Pueblo craftsman who came before them. Greg Lewis (and his son), at Laguna Pueblo and Jock Favour are only two examples of excellent silversmiths who produce well made jewelry using traditional designs and materials. The majority of these pieces have hallmarks to aid us in the identification of their work. The best protection one has is to buy from a dealer you trust, and guarantees the authenticity of their pieces. Even the most seasoned dealer gets fooled from time to time as we are always learning. It’s always a buyer beware scenario. When dealing in historic beadwork the basics of trust and integrity still apply. There are a number of hobbyist in the US and overseas, primarily in Germany who are recreating pieces of historic beadwork. Most of them are using beads from the Czech Republic and not early Italian trade beads. One can also tell by the materials used to sew the beads on to the hides. Fortunately I was trained by one of the top beadwork restorers in the US for a couple of years and learned how to tell what is an ”artifact” and what is an ”artifake” but remember we all get fooled from time to time. Chipeta Trading offers 100% guarantee in representation and has more than 40 years of collecting experience to help reduce these events, so Sandra, I hope this helps answer some of your questions and concerns.