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Vintage Fred Harvey Era
Sterling Silver and Turquoise
Split Shank Pretty Girl Bracelets
HK Item #BP596

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Jewelry

Vintage Fred Harvey Era
Sterling Silver and Turquoise
Split Shank Pretty Girl Bracelets
BP596
(ONLY ONE OF EACH AVAILABLE)

(these can be opened or closed approximately 1/4")

A - thunderbird with turquoise - 5 1/4"
$150
plus s/h SOLD
B - crossed arrows ( turquoise stone chipped) - 5 3/4"
$45
plus s/h
C - thunderbird with turquoise- 6 1/8"
$175
plus s/h


Paula says - "To give you an idea of scale, bracelet 'C' is 3/4" tall at the front.

"These vintage bracelets are pre-owned. Each has smooth symmetric shape and the stones are firmly set with no cracks or chips except for the small stone in 'B', which is chipped. These small bracelets are light weight enough to be opened or closed approximately 1/4" from the stated size.

"In my opinion, these bracelets show all the design characteristics and workmanship of being Navajo made. But because there are no hallmarks that we can attribute to a specific artist we can't legally sell them as Native American made - read more.

We leave the natural patina on our jewelry because many of our customers like the old "vintage" appearance.

Want your jewelry to look like new? Read my blog 'To Polish or Not to Polish'.

Silver polishing cloths and anti tarnish bags

Split Shank, Pretty Girl, and Wire Bracelets

All three of these types of bracelets – split shank, Pretty Girl, and wire bracelets, are traditional Navajo and Zuni bracelet forms and all are open and airy making for comfortable summer wearing. The open spaces allow for ventilation, thus making the bracelets more comfortable to wear in hot and humid weather. Read more . . .

What is a Pretty Girl Bracelet

A Pretty Girl bracelet is a lightweight split shank Native American souvenir bracelet from the Fred Harvey era. The decorations added to a Pretty Girl bracelet were set on a platform and usually were a combination of hand made and cast elements such as medallions, buttons, braids, wire and raindrops. Pre-cut turquoise gemstones set into pre-formed bezel cups were the most common adornments set onto a platform. There were a variety of handmade and preformed platforms used – from simple to ornate. The edges of the bracelets were often scalloped. The side panels were often stamped with geometric designs, whirling logs, dogs, thunderbirds, arrows and more. Read more . . .

Fred Harvey Era

Fred Harvey was an entrepreneur who created an avenue for Indians to make and sell jewelry to the tourists. Jewelry of the Fred Harvey era has typical Indian kitsch of arrows, tomahawks, tipis, thunderbirds and so on and was most produced from 1930 throughout the 1950s.
Read more about Fred Harvey here.

Peyote Bird, Water Bird or Thunderbird?

Water Bird / Peyote Bird

A symbol of the renewal of life, rainy seasons, rivers, distant travel, distant vision & wisdom. It is often also referred to as the Peyote Bird because the Water Bird plays a significant part in the Native American Indian Church Peyote meetings and, in fact, since the early 1900's has been the symbol of the NAC.

Peyote/Water Bird is not a Southwest tradition, but one of the Plains Indians. The Peyote Bird is connected with lightning, thunder and visions. Those who dream of the thunder beings will become Heyokas, those who do things backwards, upside down, or opposite. This is a Lakota way of being. It is part of the medicine of the Heyoka to remind us that we should not take ourselves too seriously - that's why Heyoka is often translated as the "sacred clown".

Thunderbird

A cross-cultural symbol of the Southwest, Plains and Pacific Northwest tribes as well as in the non-Native world. Much is written about the origin of the symbol and its significance. It has been suggested by some that the symbol was borrowed by Native American artisans from medal dies from the white man. Others claim the Thunderbird has always lived in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. There, carved totem poles are often topped with a Thunderbird with outstretched wings. Looking at a Thunderbird, it is easy to see why it symbolizes power, strength and nobility.

Our Rescue Mission
of
Native American Indian Jewerly and Artifacts

Native American Jewelry blog tips and informationWe are in the vintage Native American jewelry rescue business and are passionate about finding new homes for used and vintage jewelry and artifacts. That's why we purchase Native American pieces from estates, inheritances, collection downsizing and New Old Stock (NOS) inventory from closed stores.

Often people contact us after taking a box of Native American jewelry to their local pawn shop and find that a pawn shop is mainly interested in melt value of the metals and not in preserving the beautiful historic pieces. To hear that people have considered selling these treasures for melt value makes us truly sad.

Melt value is usually far below what we would offer for the jewelry. Yet we can't pay retail price for items because of the time and cost involved in finding new homes for them. We have to research, often repair and restore the jewelry, photograph and list each item on our website, and sometimes hold pieces in inventory for years until the right buyer comes along.

We hope you'll find something special in our vintage shop that will complete yet another circle of our jewelry re-homing mission.

About Silver

100% solid silver won't tarnish but it is too soft to use for making jewelry - it could easily be scratched, dented and bent. Sterling silver has a small amount of one or more other metals usually copper, added to the silver. To be called sterling silver, the alloy must contain at least 92.5% pure silver. Sterling silver alloy is harder than pure silver but the added metals also can cause discoloration or tarnish.

Read more about silver.

ABOUT TURQUOISE

Turquoise is associated with the sky, and bringing sky energy to earth. It is known as a master healer stone as it is believed to help speed the healing process. It is also thought that turquoise can help promote honest and clear communication from the heart.
Turquoise comes in all shades of blue, to blue-green and it is the natural variations in turquoise that make it appealing. The color of turquoise in American Indian jewelry ranges from brownish green to bright blue. Found in veins sandwiched in between layers of mother rock, turquoise can show some of the influence of the mother rock in its matrix or veining. The matrix colors range from blue to golden brown to black and sometimes with golden flecks. Many people prefer turquoise with matrix over clear stones. Read more about stones.

NOTE: Items in our Vintage Shop are either USED or NEW. They might come from inheritances, estate sales, private collections, and store liquidations. Many items are brand new (NOS, New Old Stock) and in perfect condition while others may show tarnish, scratches and other signs of use. Major issues will be described in detail and shown in photos. Vintage Shop items are sold as described and are not returnable.
Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition
©  2015 Horsekeeping LLC    © Copyright Information
Patina
A dark or colored film of oxidation that forms naturally on metal exposure to air and other elements. It is often valued for its aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Vintage
30 years or older.
NOS
New Old Stock. Retail store inventory from at least 10 years ago.
Pre-owned
An item that has been used.
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