Featured Help with a stone ring

so i bought a few items off of a woman in her late 80s who claimed some were her mothers and some she had fr years...most have the sterling and whatever else was inside worn off from repeated wear...can anyone help me with this one

 

Looks like it could be some type of jasper.

 

It's probably a Navajo ring, and it never did have any marks to wear off.

 

Love these stones. Think they are all the same thing & some of the tiny cabochons definitely look like turquoise, so, even though the main stone does not look look any turquoise I recall seeing before, suspect it is. Turquoise can vary greatly in color, veining/inclusions, matrix, from mine to mine, meaningless that I haven't seen any like this before.

I agree it is Native American, Navajo likely as not, & old enough not to be marked up like a souvenir/collector piece made today.

@komokwa Any observations?

 

it's navajo...like.....but it doesn't look true to me...
the face is cast...and the stones...whatever they are are very poorly picked and set around the oval...

 

I think that it is Navajo and that the stones are turquoise. Also from the backside and the small bubbles/imperfections that probably indicates sand casting. I think you may have acquired a real treasure. Perhaps a true pawn shop item. I want it!

 

if it were a treasure...the stones would all match and be equally well set , and the stamping on the band would not seem as though it were an afterthought..... oh...and with a lightning bolt.... . mehh...not so much...

 

The cabochons that are a very different shape/size also differ in color & could be replacements.

 

I really think the stone just past three o'clock is a replacement.

And maybe the one right before eleven.

 

Looks older and more primitive that old pawn / Fred Harvey period. Don't recognize the stone origin - could be Silver Fox turquoise.

 

It is a very nice ring. I'm with patd, it could have been made during the time generally known as Fred Harvey period.
The cluster style looks Zuni inspired, but the split shank and the stamped decorations look more Navajo. It doesn't have to be either. I am on the fence as to the origin.

With those trade type stamped designs it doesn't look Old Pawn to me. Old Pawn was heavy jewellery made for their own use and investment.

I agree with Bronwen, some stones could have been replaced. They also look very shiny, which is unusual.

This one was probably never marked.

 

I wonder if the band was recycled from a Navajo bracelet, buckle, button, etc. which would explain why there are partial stampings, but I'm not an expert on Navajo jewelry. I do really like the ring, though.

 

Driving home from Santa Fe NM as I post. Going in and out of internet so will finish later if I get bumped off. Can’t identify stones off a phone but agree it’s older.

I like it too but also agree that it’s way too rough to be old pawn and appears to me to either be an old tourist piece or an old SW hobbyist piece. Stamping sure looks no newer than 50s to me and I agree unmatched stones could be replacements but could be original too.

IMO it shows both Zuni and Navajo attributions which means zip-happens frequently with mixed tribe marriages, hobbyists. etc.

Agree with Komokwa that it was not made as a quality piece but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t way cool, a great color, and of age.

With respect I think mine attribution is absurd. I hate those charts. Not only can you get multiple veins of hugely different color and matrix in a single mine but I’ll always subscribe to the school that turquoise shouldn’t be mine attributed unless you were the miner pulling it out or have original documentation from a known reputable dealer. And even then...

I think it’s very salable and needs no further research other than definite identification of the stones and silver which IMO should be done by a jeweler.

Since it can’t be definitely tribe or artist identified it becomes a “Vintage Southwestern Sterling (after being checked)Green Stone (hopefully identified) Large Cluster Stamped Ring” or similar.

IMO do not use Fed Harvey Era if listing. That’s total keyword spam. I hate when I see that if it isn’t an authentic stamped piece.

 

I’m home and just looked on a real screen and honestly have no idea what stones I’m looking at. I have a lot of vintage NA green turquoise and mine doesn’t look like yours, but I’m no gemologist. Take it to a jeweler to identify the stones and double check that it’s silver (which it appears to be). If you’re keeping it, enjoy. If you’re selling, I think the keywords that I already posted are fine. Are some of those stones chipped?

 

Just a little chip...nothing major

 

Are the three suns carved in both sides any indication of a tribe or artist? I was reading some native artists use certain amounts of symbols to represent their children or family members etc??? This is all new to me ...appreciate all the great info I’ve retrieved from these posts!!!!

 

none here...just someone with a set of punches ( or stamps..)
they are stamped into the silver using a metal punch with a design at the end.

 

Anyone has been able to buy NA symbol stamps for at least 60 years.

 

Very similar piece.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/105497146/turquoise-ring-vintage-1940s-navajo?gpla=1&gao=1&