HOT ! 7.25\" Wilson Begay Navajo sterling silver turquoise cuff bracelet

7.25\" Vintage Wilson Begay silver and turquoise cuff bracelet. 60mm wide incenter tapering down at ends.Wilson and Carol Begay are traditional Navajo silversmiths. These talentedsilversmiths have been creating traditional Navajo jewelry since 1969. They camefrom families well known for their jewelry making. Wilson’s father, Luke, taughtJohn Adair, author of “Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths” how to make sand castjewelry. He worked for many years with Mike and Dean Kirk, at the famous KirkBrothers Trading Company in Gallup, New Mexico.Carol’s parents, Angela and Allen Chee were both silversmiths who worked by C.G.Wallace, the famous jewelry trader from Zuni, New Mexico.The Begays began their career making sandcast jewelry, a traditional type ofNavajo jewelry that requires the artist to make carvings in Tufa stone to makeforms to shape molten silver. They first worked for Tobe Tupen, a well knowntrader in Gallup. Carol remembers that silver was only $1.25 an ounce when theystarted.Today they are independent artists whose work is widely sought after andadmired. Wilson concentrates on the casting and building the foundations of thejewelry and Carol sets the stones and does the finishing work. They worktogether to design their jewelry.Traditional sandcast silver jewelry is a unique Navajo art form. The process,although it sounds simple, requires careful discipline and years of practice toobtain quality results.The artist takes two pieces of pumice stone and grinds them together to createtwo flat surfaces. Then the design is carved into one of the two pumice stones.An opening is carved from the design to the top and bottom of the stone. The twopieces of stone are then tied together so that the carved design is between thetwo flat areas. Silver is then melted in a crucible, and when it reaches theproper molten form, it is poured into the opening on the top of the design. Ifit is the proper temperature, it flows through to the bottom where it cools andhardens, filling the design space. After cooling, the stones are separated, thecasting removed and the protrusions on the top and bottom are cut off. Thesilver is then filed smooth and shaped.If stones are to be set on the piece, the artist builds a silver bezel to holdthe stone and then solders it to the piece of jewelry. Sawdust is put in thebottom of the bezel to cushion the stone and the bezel is tightened. The pieceis then polished to the shine the artist likes.Wilson Begay of Gallup is the acknowledged master of the art of sandcastjewelry. Luke Begay, Wilson\'s grandfather, demonstrated this skill to John Adairin the early 1930\'s when Adair was conducting a survey of native silversmiths ofthe Smithsonian. Luke taught the skill to Wilson as a young man. Today, in his60\'s, Wilson continues to make sandcast jewelry in his Gallup home. His wife,Carol, chooses the stones to be used and sets them in bezels. The Begays havethree daughters, Nichole, Yvonne and Bonnie, are continuing the familytradition.Wilson\'s stamped signature is a flat brimmed Navajo hat with his initials underit. His signature is one of the most recognized in Indian jewelry. His work haswon top awards at the Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial and is a \"must have\" forserious collectors of contemporary Indian jewelry.All precious metals are tested and guaranteed, any Native American jewelryreferred to as Silver or Sterling is guaranteed to be a minimum of 90% (coin)silver and possibly higher content. Anything marked is guaranteed to be whatit\'s marked, most bracelets are photographed on a 6\" wrist (non hairy), ringsphotographed on the appropriate sized finger when possible. With bracelets ifthe measurement is not given in the description then inside circumference isshown where the metal meets the number on the the cloth tape measure.