Featured Questions about another Navajo? bracelet

I'm assuming this is a vintage Navajo silver bracelet. The only mark is the number 121 shown in the second photo. I've done some searching online, but haven't found anything numbered like this. Does anyone know what the number means?

 

?????......got me..?

 

Hm. I wonder if it was remade from cutlery originally. That’s an old font.

 

Thank you Obb-I hadn't thought of that possibility. If not cutlery, maybe some other object that was stamped with 121.

 

It's a mystery for sure! I searched around a bit (I'm sure you did too, Joan) and found nothing.

Good suggestion it was maybe made from something else?? It seems to have some nice skill and quality to it. Very pretty!

 

Thank you, Lucille.

 

Ditto.
It is an old style, which was inspired by cuffs from tribes further east and north, even as far away as the Cherokee and Delaware.
This style came after the Spanish influenced style but before the Art Nouveau style which is now associated with the Navajo.

If it was made from something else, it must have been something that was based on Navajo cuffs. I think this back and forth is very unlikely.
Maybe the number is a design number for retail?

 

Thank you, AJ, for the interesting information which is new to me.

 

I'm still researching this bracelet and ran across a YouTube video explaining how to recognize Navajo ingot silver jewelry. Maybe it's obvious that my bracelet was made from a silver ingot, but I hadn't seen that term used in my research until now.

The inside of my bracelet has characteristics similar to the Concho example shown on the video. I realize my bracelet is not as old as the Concho example, but thought I'd post a comparison photo since it's the only example I've seen that has the little globs of silver on the inside (but maybe that has nothing to do with the process of making jewelry from a silver ingot). I also read that the little vertical cracks/lines are a characteristic of silver ingot bracelets. Any comments/opinions are appreciated.

 

Just looking at the photos you can't really tell how it was made. Are the globs raised above the surface? The lines appear to be chisel marks and not cracks. A number of areas appear to have porosity from being cast. Are the conchos stamped from the inside of the band or soldered onto the top surface? Hammering a ingot would leave a smoother surface on the backside.

 

I appreciate your questions, Holly. The globs are even with the surface. The conchos are stamped from the backside.

 

Here's another example--not that the description is completely accurate. I'm just trying to learn about Navajo jewelry and the different terms people use to describe it.

 

From the description and appearance it doesn't seem to be NA made,it looks like it was made on a rolling mill.

 

Interesting...thank you, Holly.

 

To increase your knowledge there have been patterned rollers since before the 1860's,examples below.... https://mekkisupplies.com/collections/designer-roller-for-mill

 

Thank you again, Holly, I wondered how a rolling mill would work.
I stumbled onto the website of an Indian Art Gallery that offers one free online appraisal of an item that doesn't have any stones, so I submitted info and two photos of this bracelet. They supposedly will reply within 48 hours. I'll post their response.

 

If you are interested in other jewelry and how some are made take a look at Hugo's website and videos.
https://hugokohl.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@hugokohljewelry/videos

 

Fascinating....thank you, Holly, for posting the links.

 

Here's the response I received from the website that offered a free appraisal. I sent him the first two photos at the top of this post:

"Hi, this is Navajo, ca 1920 and pretty nice. I can't find that mark yet. Figure it is a $400-650 item as it is an early one. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you,
Matt Wood"
Matt Wood's
Antique American Indian Art, LLC
WINAM (Whidbey Island Native Arts Museum)
50 NE Midway Blvd
Oak Harbor, WA 98277

I don't know anything about this person except what's on his website: https://www.antiqueamericanindianart.com/about-us.html.