this listing is for 1 Vintage Navajo bracelet it is set with three very bright medium blue turquoise cabochons. absolutely handmade, substantial -30g, thick and holds well its shape! it is in great vintage condition with no damage! this bracelet can be adjusted slightly for a bigger or smaller size. please see photos near ruler for sizes. it almost 51/2" inside +11/4" approx opening. the turquoise stones are backed - please see 2nd photo - it can be seen a little from one side. Backing : from a popular online source- "Since FINER turquoise is often found as thin seams, it may be glued to a base of stronger foreign material as a means of reinforcement. These stones are termed "backed," and it is standard practice that all thinly cut turquoise in the Southwestern United States is backed. Native indigenous peoples of this region, because of their considerable use and wearing of turquoise, have found that backing increases the durability of thinly cut slabs and cabochons of turquoise. They observe that if the stone is not backed it will often crack. Backing of turquoise is not widely known outside of the Native American and Southwestern United States jewellery trade. Backing does NOT diminish the value of high quality turquoise, and indeed the process is expected for most thinly cut American commercial gemstones" it is an old Navajo bracelet - made before 1970 and not sighed, but it is approx 925 silver - tested . last photos show 3 different bracelets I have for sale together - but the listing is only for 1 bracelet shown on the first photo. two others are just for demonstration and give you an idea what shade of turquoise it is and help you to choose the right one for you:-) smoke free environment and fast shipping! thank you!
a little information about silver purity: Coin Silver: When used in association with vintage Native American jewelry, this refers to the alloy that resulted when pre-1965 US silver coins were melted down to reuse in jewelry making. Coin silver made from US coins has less silver than sterling silver (90% compared to 92.5% in sterling silver) but that doesn’t necessarily make coin silver jewelry less desirable. In fact, because coin silver jewelry is usually older and hand hammered, it might be more valuable than if it were made of sterling silver. Vintage Mexican coins often had a silver content above that of US coins, therefore was softer and easier to hand hammer and preferred by some old-time silversmiths. Some Mexican coin silver jewelry will test as high as sterling silver. Alpaca is a term that is often stamped on Mexican (and German) pieces and sometimes it is called Alpaca Silver but it contains no silver at all. Alpaca is usually composed of 65% copper, 18% nickel and 17% zinc. It is similar to German Silver and Nickel Silver (see below). German Silver: It is not actually silver at all! Also called nickel silver, this popular alloy contains copper, zinc and nickel, but has no silver in it. Also sold under manufacturers' trade names, this material is very hard and generally must be machined. Many people are allergic to nickel and get what is called "nickel itch" when contacting nickel silver. Nickel Silver: See German Silver above.
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