Navajo Turquoise Bracelet

Point is, an authentic Navajo piece would never be marked "Mexico", the Navajo Nation is in Arizona. I'm not saying it is marked Mexico, I can't read what it says. Which may be intentional. Fake Native American jewelry, with its deceptive stamping, has been a huge problem for years.

But this piece isn't marked "Navajo", either. And I have never seen Navajo jewelry marked with "980". Navajo jewelry makers avoid stamping with numbers like 925 or 980 because they are associated with Mexican jewelry which is often passed off as Native American. And even though it (supposedly) is a high grade of silver, the work on the bracelet is mediocre at best, and looks nothing like Navajo, except that it is silver and turquoise.

Keep in mind, the initials may not be those of the maker. If it is Mexican, since 1980 they have used a system where the first letter refers to the city where it was made, and the second is the first letter of the maker's surname. It replaced the older Mexican eagle stamp system.

 

Oh sorry, looking back I realize didnt include a photo where its stamped "NAVAJO" on the back of one of the panels. It is at least sterling as I have tested it.

 

As for the ring , the Navajo like to wrap twisted wire around the stone....yours looks to be a silver casting that SIMULATES the look.

 

http://www.amazon.com/TAXCO-Mexico-Sterling-Silver-Turquoise/dp/B00L83GRWS

Here's a similar ring.......but so much better...

 

As for the ring , the Navajo like to wrap twisted wire around the stone....yours looks to be a silver casting that SIMULATES the look.[/QUOTE]

Not cast,handmade.Look at the stone shapes and the silver formed by hand to conform to each stone. Before the twisted wire a flat bezel is shaped then the pieces soldered together first the then stone added then burnished to hold it in. Also a typical split shank soldered to the bacck.