Jewelry

[AuntMame]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

CHIP62  Native American arts and crafts are done by hand by the individual artists.  They usually put a hallmark or their initials on pottery and jewelry.  Since they meticulously make one piece at a time, they don't make enough to have a brand.  This jewelry is sold in shops and galleries usually in the Southwest.  It has become so coveted that forgeries or copies are being made overseas and sold in the US as the real thing.  Only an expert with a practiced eye can detect many forgeries.  I would only buy from trusted, reliable sources and only buy the work of artists with whom I'm familiar. 

Over the years to see of us here who love this jewelry have exchanged information on "new finds" which expands our collections.  Our poster @patbz told me about a Navajo Indian namedq Alex Sanchez so now I've acquired a number of pieces of his work.  You can check out his work online.   Here's a pendant I treasure.

What a treasure! That pendant has soul.  

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[beach-mom]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

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That's good to hear but Pollack's Qvc line doesnt't pretend to be Native American or even Native American inspired.  I think she once had a separate line here that was designed by Native American artists but that's gone.  I do believe it's problem because the uninformed shopper, everywhere not just here at Qvc, gets roped in by the buzz words and that make it seem like a piece is made by Native Americans.  "Inspired" is big one.  Smaller boutiques jus out and out lie, their pieces aren't even made in the USA and often the turquoise isn't even real.  It is a problem and I hope to see a remedy because I have a large collection of turquoise jewelry, much of it inspired by Native American styles, some copies.  But I knew what I was buying.  I'd love to own some real pieces but that would mean going to the source, the western part of the country where Native American arisans live work and sell their pieces.  

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 @chrystaltree - I think Carolyn's AW line still features jewelry by Fritz Casuse and Veronica Benally. When I started watching QVC I bought a piece here by Myron Panteah, who died a few years ago I have a band ring by Benally that I bought somewhere else. 

I am under the impression that the AW line is mostly designed by other artists, with Carolyn featured. But I might be wrong. I think the red coral pieces are designed by her. 

I'm one of the strange ones who likes brass! I have a pair of earrings I bought in Texas years ago. I wear them a lot, and they still look great. They have darkened, but I like the look! Carolyn's "new" brass is very similar to gold, but I like that too. 

[Katcat1]

@Pargy,      I have never been a fan of Southwestern jewelry; however, I was drawn to a few of her rings and purchased a couple.   Excellent design and construction.  I bought one from her site at a very reasonable sale price and the other from QVC.  i enjoy her shows even if I don't purchase anything but you never know.