Sizzle and Sparkle

Last year about this time when it was sizzling hot, I wrote a couple of blog posts on some of my jewelry (amber and turquoise). At the time, I “promised” I would post about some more pieces that I thought were interesting: antique, vintage, handmade, or had a story to tell. I also posted a few months ago about a bracelet I own with a mysterious past (I’ve still never found any answers 😦 ).

So, here are a few more pieces, all in silver. The above is a new acquisition made by Tucson artist, Michelle Spanyard. She also does Tucson map jewelry as well as a lot of other beautiful designs. If you live in Phoenix, Michelle sells her jewelry through Practical Art.

This is a raw chunk of lapis lazuli set in silver by Janice Stiles, a Phoenix artist. I got this at an art fair a couple of years ago.

I totally love this deer pendant, made by Navajo artist Jimmy Jensen. I got mine in Sedona but you can buy them online.

So these 2 pieces above have a story to tell. My grandmother had the ring in her jewelry box and I used to love trying all her jewelry on. I begged and pleaded with her to give me this ring and she finally did although it was too big for me then (this was many, many decades ago). Later on, I wore it in college a lot but then put it away and forgot about it until a few years ago when I rediscovered it. It’s pretty large and sort of dramatic. So…a few years ago, when I was on a major Mexican jewelry kick, and buying stuff off ebay, I came across the bracelet by chance. It’s from Taxco, the Mexican silver capital, from about the 1940s. They look really nice together and you would think they were a set but, actually, the ring is Navajo.

Shortly thereafter, I found the above earrings on ebay that match well. They are large, larger than the ring, and they are from Taxco, too, from the 1940s-1950s. I generally wear them with the necklace above, Navajo etched silver beads, which I bought locally about 35 years ago so now they’re “vintage,” too.

The above pieces are all vintage Taxco, the pin from the 1930s. The earrings are trimmed in bronze and the pin has inlays of turquoise or malachite, made by Los Castillo. There is actually one for sale on ebay right now but the price I paid was nowhere near what they are asking (so maybe I made a good investment).

And this necklace and earrings set are also both from Taxco. The necklace is new, the earrings are old. The necklace, sort of hammered links, is a recent acquisition from the Phoenix Art Museum Gift Shop. I definitely have a weakness for jewelry, but I’ve given up my ebay buying, although I do look occasionally.

My next jewelry post may be about my antique/vintage butterfly pin collection…