turquoise ring

[ulven]

Hi again. I have a ring that I know nothing about. It is a very heavy turquoise with a sterling band. I cannot find any other markings on it as it is very for lack of a better word, lumpy. Can anyone help me?

 

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[gunsil]

Well the ring is cast, and the lack of markings suggests it was made by someone in a jewelry making class. Is it sterling? Has it been tested as such? Probably not worth more than $25 on a good day if it is indeed sterling.

 

[Hunter1805]

What you have is a nice old sterling ring. Typical rings of this nature have a story to tell. You can tell what area of the nation and sometimes what mine the turquoise came from, based on color and matrix. The style and the size suggests it to be made by a Navajo member. This would be considered "Old Pawn" or Dead Pawn" It is very collectable if you look on E-Bay. These were made to sell and to trade. Some very talented Indians would make rings and bracelets and trade them for foods and supplies. The would then come back and pay in cash then the shop owners would return the item to them once paid. If the Indian did not come back it would be considered Dead Pawn and the shop owner would then sell it. Many are marked and some made by very famous people and are worth a lot of money. The silver came from Coin or it was mined in the area. With no marking I would say it was made before 1930 and the sale value should be around $40-75. Silver vale is not an issue here the style, age and stone make the ring. Jim

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

well...not surprising i disagree with both of the previous statements.
while the color of the stone suggests an earlier period..the setting is early american hippie....
i'd suggest the ring was made in the late 1960's...
from the change of the turquoise from that brilliant blue into a green...is from constant wearing of the ring.
most people will notice how "old pawn" stones have a distinct greenish ting...this is from natural body oil permeating the stone.

i'd guess, without handling the ring...that it is worth near 50+ dollars on a good day in a good market.


oh...that is a rather fine stone there...

 

[ulven]

Thank you all for your advice. I am sorry I haven't answered sooner, but I didn't get any emails saying there were answers so I didn't think anybody had answered.
It does say "sterling" on the inside. But I cannot really see if there are any other markings. I have it on a Facebook page and there are several people that are really interested in it and then one that wants me to send it to her and she will put it in her consignment shop @ 15% commission. I am new to this and a little leery of sending to somebody although she has offered to send some kind of contract to me first and she "feels compelled to help me with it". Would a jeweler be able to appraise it? Or an antique dealer?

 

[geologyjohn]

I think that the estimates in the above posts pretty much nail it. I also guess that it dates from the hippie era. I remember these were quite popular around 1974. I dug several in the following years metal detecting. My silversmith girl friend at the time hated them. Too crude in her opinion. I liked them myself.

 

[centfladigger]

never pay someone a commission for something that you can easily sell yourself. FB might not work but go to Ebay and see what rings like yours sell for or put a fixed price on Fb and see what it does