Frequently Asked Questions

What do you consider Vintage Turquoise Jewelry?

We consider jewelry that is 40 years or older to be vintage jewelry. For us to consider a piece to be an antique, that piece must be at least 80 years old.

Is the Vintage Turquoise Jewelry found in pawn shops, the Internet and at traders stores authentic?

In most cases, we would not consider it to be Vintage or Antique. There are a few reputable traders out there, but most sell items that are over a year old as pawn if they have that look. 95% of the jewelry sold on the Internet, that we find, is made to look old, not authentic old pawn, this is especially true with Native American Jewelry.

Is Vintage Jewelry more valuable the older it is?

In most cases the older the item the more valuable it is. You must take into consideration though, the maker, stones, and the difficult of the piece. You must also take into consideration, whether or not the piece is a production piece or was it a one of a kind or custom piece?

Does the mine the turquoise came from affect the value of Vintage Turquoise Jewelry?

Definitely! Depending on the type of vintage turquoise jewelry, the stone can vary the price greatly. The stone's locality is most important to the pricing of Vintage Native American Turquoise Jewelry.

Is the value of Vintage Turquoise Jewelry hurt when the stones have been replaced?

In most cases yes. The only time this could not be true is if the stone was upgraded with a higher grade stone, from the same mine as the original stone(s) in the piece. In this case the value of the piece would remain the same or in the case where the piece had a poor quality original stone, the piece may even be worth more after a stone replacement.

What mines did the turquoise in Vintage Turquoise Jewelry come from most often?

Again, depending on what type of vintage jewelry, whether Native American, Asian, Egyptian or Middle Eastern, different mines where common. In Native American jewelry there are a few common mines turquoise came from. The most common mines in vintage jewelry would be Blue Gem, Cerrillos, Royston, Manassa, Villa Grove, and later on Kingman, Morenci and Castle Dome. In vintage turquoise jewelry from Asia, Tibetan turquoise was most commonly used. In Egyptian jewelry most commonly the turquoise was being mine around Israel. In Middle Eastern Jewelry the turquoise from the Persian (Iranian) mines is the most common, and most would be of a clear blue variety (matrix free).

Is AUTHENTIC Turquoise becoming more and more scarce every year?

YES. Actually turquoise, especially natural turquoise that is gem grade and needs no enhancements, is becoming very scarce. Infact, most of the jewelry you will see on the Internet and in stores around the world is either imitation stone or has been dyed and stabilized. Turquoise beads are probably the worst. 90% of what is on the market is Howlite dyed blue or is color enhanced and is stabilized or hardened with resin.

Can you identify Vintage Turquoise Jewelry, do you do appraisals?

Yes we can identify AUTHENTIC Vintage Jewelry. If you would like an appraisal you need to contact John Hartman of Durango Silver Company in Durango, Colorado USA.

Do you have a list of Native American Jewelry Artists Hallmarks?

Yes, we have a brief list on our website www.indianvillage.com. We will add to this list as often as possible. We started with artists that are common in our collection. More information can be found in the book "Hallmarks of the Southwest" which is a fairly large collection of artists hallmarks... it does not have all of them, but most.

What are your credentials?

Yes we can identify AUTHENTIC Vintage Jewelry. If you would like an appraisal you need to contact John Hartman of Durango Silver Company in Durango, Colorado USA.

Do you know of a jewelry history timeline?

Yes, please visit http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/intro/atr/08sm.htm.

Old Pawn - Antique Native American Jewelry History