Sterling Silver
Vintage Turquoise Sand Cast Pin
HK Item #PN479

Vintage sand cast sterlling silver turquoise Pin

Materials	turquoise, Read about stones sterling silver, Read about silver
Size	2 1/4" x 2"
Weight	26 grams
Hallmarks	none
Artist	unknown
Condition	vintage, pre-owned , excellent; stone firmly set with no cracks, chips, or missing pieces; even medium patina

Questions or more details.

Store Policies

Paula says - "In my opinion, this vintage sand cast pin shows all the design characteristics and workmanship of being Navajo made. But because there is no hallmark that we can attribute to a specific artist we can't legally sell it as Native American made - read more."

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What does Sand Cast mean?

Sand cast, or tufa cast, items are Indian Hand Made items using a procedure developed by the Navajo silversmiths in the mid 1800s. It is a labor-intensive process that involves many steps.

Using tuff stone, a porous rock from volcanic ash, tufa stone, a porous limestone that forms near hot springs, or sandstone, a harder stone, the artist carves the design of the item being cast. Another flat stone is placed against the carved half of the mold. The halves are fastened together and a sprue hole is carved into one end. Molten silver is poured into the mold using the sprue hole. Once the silver cools, the item is taken out and finished. Bracelets are poured flat and then shaped. Read more . . .

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 (, 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.

Why isn't this item called Native American?

The US Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 and its recent Amendments require that items described as Native American or Indian be made by an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe. Furthermore, government regulations suggest that all attributions include the Native American Indian's name, tribe and federal tribal enrollment number. Because it is impossible to identify the artist for many vintage items, even if they are authentic Indian made items, we cannot and will not use the words Native American or Indian in association with such pieces.

Read about authenticity of Native American Indian jewelry.

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

We 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 () 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.

Sterling Silver Vintage Turquoise Sand Cast PinHK Item #PN479

What does Sand Cast mean?

ABOUT TURQUOISE

Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition© 2015 Horsekeeping LLC © Copyright Information

Why isn't this item called Native American?

Our Rescue Missionof Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts

Sterling Silver
Vintage Turquoise Sand Cast Pin
HK Item #PN479

Horsekeeping LLC - Definitions of Jewelry Age and Condition
© 2015 Horsekeeping LLC © Copyright Information

Our Rescue Mission
of Native American Indian Jewelry and Artifacts