Many people contacting me wanting to know more about there piece of jewelry and the hallmark it has on the back. They will send me the initials in hopes I can tell them more about the artist. Unless it is an artist I know, it is difficult to answer their questions. I have many books on the subject, but it takes hours of research and even then, many use the same initials so you can never be sure unless you know the artists work. To do this takes an expert in this area and not just a jewelry expert, but an expert in Native American jewelry and crafts.
Keeping track of all the artists both living and deceased is quite an undertaking. Here are a few places to try. They are experts in this field and much more qualified to answer your questions than I am.
There is a man that specializes in identifying Native American crafts and the craftspeople that make them. He has written several books on the subject. He might be able to assist you. His name is Dr. Gregory Schaaf. He has a web site and he specializes in these type things. You might want to contact him, his web site is:
http://www.indianartbooks.com/index.htmlThere is another expert that has appeared on Antique Road Show as an expert in Native American jewelry and crafts, however, she charges for her services. Her name is Joan Caballero, her web site is:
http://www.collectorsguide.com/sf/a005.html
Good luck with your search, I hope you find the answers you are seeking.
March 31st, 2010
It is that time of year when we want to go swimming. I just want to warn you that the clorine from pools and hot tubs can damage the finish on your lovely sterling silver jewelry. It can also be very harsh on porous gemstones like turquoise. So when swimming you may want to leave your precious sterling silver jewelry at home.
If you should damage your jewelry with chlorine, don’t fret. A visit to your local bench jeweler and he can most likely polish the surface and make it look new again, but any damage to gemstones, isn’t likely to be repairable, do keep that in mind. However, prevention is always the best solution.
March 31st, 2010
Quite often I get emails from folks that have accidentally discolored their turquoise or other semi-precious stones. I thought I would post my last correspondence in hopes this information will be helpful to others.
Here is the original email, with his permission and he told me to leave the “I’m an idiot” part in so I did as he requested.
From Seth:
I’m an idiot – attempted to polish turquoise jewelry (heirloom) with a buffing compound, and have discolored the stone – is there any hope to restore it? Seth
My response:
Dear Seth,
I am afraid that turquoise is very porous and most likely is ruined. You might contact a jeweler that cuts and polishes stones to see if they can remove it and remove the surface to see if it just damaged the top surface, but I can tell you right now, they are not easy to find and of course the stones are delicate. The bench jeweler is on it’s way out, there are too many just retail stores out there that are not able to do any repairs, but you can call around.
I can possibly see about having a new stone put in it for you, but turquoise isn’t cheap and depending on the size of the stone it could be anywhere from $25.00 to $100.00. I don’t have anyone here that can polish the stone either, wish I did. If you would like for me to see about having it repaired for you, please let me know. I can’t give you a firm quote, I just send things to them, they repair them, if they can, and tell me how much. We don’t usually do repairs other than on our own jewelry, but sometimes the silversmiths will help me out.
Seth:
You are so gracious – thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I may very well come back pleading to take you up on your offer.
Thank you again! Seth
My response:
Good luck Seth, and don’t feel so bad, guess what, it happens to a lot of people. I even messed my white turquoise up one time, not thinking when I put some body lotion on. It turned it a greenish color and white turquoise is suppose to be white. 
It is a rare stone and I was quite upset with myself, so I know where you are coming from. This is one reason I try to stress that people use the Haggerty silversmith Wash , I know it doesn’t discolor the stones if used properly. It is a very common mistake. I know before I got into the jewelry business I use to think, well it’s a rock, what could it do to it. Well, I discovered rocks can be very porous and absorb everything. Funny thing is everyone wants natural turquoise in there Indian made jewelry, but treated turquoise won’t discolor, that is why we use them in our beaded jewelry. What you don’t want is enhanced which means they have been dyed, but treated to close the pores isn’t a bad thing, but it is too hard to try and explain the difference and people just don’t understand, so we sell natural turquoise, that will darken with age or when coming in contact with oils, even body oil.
Good luck hon, appreciate your looking to me for answers. Do you mind if I post your question on my blog. I won’t put your name or email? Others write me often about this kind of thing and I think I will make my answer public so it might help others, if you don’t mind.
Seth’s response:
Thank you again, and Yes Ma’am, by all means post whatever you feel is beneficial – please be sure to leave in the “help, I’m an idiot” part – that will help let the folks who want to act like they weren’t stupid to try something that (while in their gut they knew was a mistake – before they even started), know they are not alone. J
Please also post this if you don’t mind as well:
“It is wonderful to note, that although I am not, nor have been up until this point a Customer of Southwest Affinity, I know from how graciously Ms. Jones has responded, and willingly assisted with my questions that when the time comes for me to purchase further Jewelry – I won’t hesitate to contact Southwest, nor to recommend them at every opportunity. If they take such care for the concerns of non-patrons – how much more would they do for their own Customers?”
All the best to you and yours,
Seth
January 16th, 2010
