Southwestern Jewelry | Vintage Sterling, Turquoise & Artisan Silver

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At a Glance

Design: Southwestern wide multi-row spiderweb turquoise cuff bracelet with heavy sterling construction, dark oxidized ground, and hand-stamped detail
Stone: Spiderweb turquoise with professional opinions split between Kingman and high-grade Hubei Province material
Color: Deep teal-blue turquoise with tight dark spiderweb matrix and pale host-rock accents; brighter blue tones are most visible in direct sunlight
Accent: Stamped borders, interior geometric stampwork, arrow stamps, pictorial terminal details, and single turquoise cabochons at each end of the shank
Metal: .925 sterling silver (unmarked)
Artist: Greg Thorne | Anglo silversmith-confirmed through SCJ’s appraiser
Era: 1990s
Status: Unsigned artist-confirmed spiderweb turquoise sterling cuff; no visible sterling stamp
Condition: Very Fine — see SCJ Vintage Condition Guide

Specifications:

• Wear scale: large statement cuff with wide wrist coverage, substantial weight, and strong collector presence
• Stones: approx. 7/16" in diameter (bezel to bezel)
• Face width: 1 15/16"
• Inside length: 6" 
• Gap: 1 3/8"
• Total inside circumference: approx. 7 3/8" (L per SCJ size guide)
• Weight: 144.1 grams

Gallery Note: 

This Greg Thorne cuff has the presence of a serious collector piece: substantial in weight, broad across the wrist, and built with a dense multi-row arrangement that gives the bracelet a strong old-style Southwestern look. The dark oxidized ground deepens the overall tone, making the spiderweb turquoise read moodier in shade and indoor light, while direct sunlight brings forward brighter blue flashes within the teal matrix.

The interior stampwork adds one of the cuff’s most distinctive details. Rather than serving only as decoration, the hidden geometric pattern gives the piece a personal, maker-driven quality and reflects the kind of thoughtful construction that rewards close handling.

The turquoise is presented transparently. Professional opinions include Spiderweb Kingman and high-grade Hubei Province material, with recent expert review favoring Hubei based on the bracelet’s 1990s context, visual characteristics, and market history. Because no mine paperwork or laboratory report accompanies the cuff, SCJ presents the stone as high-grade spiderweb turquoise with open, evidence-led identification rather than a closed mine claim.

Hallmark & Maker Notes:

This cuff is unsigned and carries no visible sterling stamp. SCJ identifies the maker as Southwest artisan Greg Thorne through its professional evaluation process, including direct artist confirmation obtained through an SCJ consulting appraiser with established knowledge of Southwestern and Native American jewelry.

As part of that review, the consulting appraiser spoke directly with Greg Thorne regarding the cuff. Thorne recalled the bracelet, the cabochons he remembered as Kingman, and the hidden geometric stampwork on the interior. He described the interior design element as personally inspired by patterns he encountered during a trip to Mexico.

That specific recollection is especially meaningful because the interior stamping is not a generic surface detail; it is a maker-driven feature placed where it is primarily discovered through close handling. The detail supports the attribution while adding context that would not be visible from the unsigned exterior alone.

Greg Thorne is an Anglo silversmith known for work that draws on older Southwestern forms and traditional techniques he learned through exposure to Navajo and Pueblo artists. His pieces often appeal to collectors who appreciate substantial silver, strong stone presence, and the visual language of earlier Native American and Southwestern jewelry, while remaining clearly identified as Anglo Southwestern work rather than Native-made.

✨ Collector inquiries are welcome. SCJ is open to thoughtful questions, documented observations, and new information that deepens the story of a piece. With permission, selected comments from our Members may be featured in our upcoming Collectors Circle Insights publications.

✨ Collectors Circle Members receive a welcome offer

At a Glance

Design: Native American turquoise spider cuff bracelet with spider & raised web motif
Stone: Turquoise cabochon consistent with Kingman material
Color: Saturated blue turquoise with minimal tan-gray matrix and light pyrite
Accent: Dimensional spider motif with stampwork and chasing, large sawtooth bezel, rope frame, raised web wirework, and silver drop accents
Metal: .925 sterling silver (unmarked)
Attribution: Navajo spider detail with Anglo webbed shank
Era: 1970s
Status: Unsigned and unstamped turquoise spider cuff bracelet
Condition: Fine — see SCJ Vintage Condition Guide

Specifications:

• Wear scale: medium statement cuff with wide rectangular wrist coverage and dimensional spider-and-web presence
• Stone: 9/16 x "3/8 (bezel to bezel)
• Face width: 1 3/8"
• Inside length: 5 7/16" 
• Gap: 1 1/8"
• Total inside circumference: approx. 6 11/16" (M per SCJ size guide)
• Weight: 47.1 grams
  

Hallmark & Maker Notes:

This bracelet is unsigned and carries no visible sterling stamp. The Navajo attribution is based on the spider appliqué’s silver construction, including the stamped and chased detailing, dimensional body, and hand-fabricated elements around the turquoise setting.

The cuff body and raised webbed shank show Anglo influence and/or collaboration, as determined through SCJ’s professional evaluation process. This piece is therefore presented as a Navajo-Anglo turquoise spider cuff rather than a straightforward single-maker Navajo bracelet.

✨ Collector inquiries are welcome. SCJ is open to thoughtful questions, documented observations, and new information that deepens the story of a piece. With permission, selected comments from our Members may be featured in our upcoming Collectors Circle Insights publications.

✨ Collectors Circle members receive a welcome offer  

At a Glance:

Design: Native American extra-large Eagle Dancer kachina bolo tie
Stone: Seven turquoise cabochons consistent with Turquoise Mountain material
Color: Seven vivid blue matched turquoise stones
Accent: Five red-orange coral accents with layered silver appliqués, twisted-wire borders, fan and wing elements, and added hand-fabricated silverwork applied to the main slide
Metal: .925 sterling silver
Artist: Signed "M" stylized initial associated with Navajo artist Pete Morgan | Broken Arrow Traders shop mark, associated with Kay Johnson
Era: Late 20th century
Status: Signed and shop-stamped large-scale Southwestern collector bolo tie
Condition: Very Fine — see SCJ Vintage Condition Guide

Specifications: 

• Wear scale: extra-large statement slide — spans the upper chest
• Largest turquoise: 1" x 5/8" (bezel to bezel)
• Slide: 6 3/4" x 5"
• Total length (including tips): 38 1/2"
• Cord: thick, black braided leather with light wear from slide movement
• Tips & ferrules condition: heavy-gauge sterling, gently worn with moderate patina
• Clasp: double-ring slide back
• Weight: 180.9 grams

Gallery Note:

This Eagle Dancer kachina bolo tie is a dramatic 1980s Navajo-Anglo Southwestern workshop statement piece produced under the Broken Arrow Traders brand and bearing a Pete Morgan-associated hallmark. Its oversized figural form, layered construction, and weight place it firmly within the bold studio-made tradition collected as wearable Southwest art.

The striking Eagle Dancer with outstretched wings is a motif deeply rooted in Hopi and Pueblo ceremonial tradition, and it became widely adopted in 20th-century commercial Southwestern jewelry produced across tribal lines. The piece is richly adorned with saturated blue turquoise cabochons and red-orange coral accents; together, these stones create a dynamic contrast against the dark sterling surface. The intricate silverwork on the slide and the fully dressed leather embellished with substantial sterling tips and ferrules add dimension, movement, and a commanding presence to the piece. 

This bolo tie has the scale and visual force of sculptural jewelry rather than conventional Southwestern neckwear. It is especially suited to collectors drawn to extra-large pieces, kachina-inspired design, and high-impact Native American jewelry forms.

Hallmark & Maker Notes: 

This bolo carries two stamped marks: a stylized capital M and the shop mark of Broken Arrow Traders, the Arizona-based silversmithing workshop operated by Kay Johnson, an Anglo artisan known for handmade sterling Southwestern jewelry in the traditional bench-made tradition. Johnson works alongside Bruce Johnson, identified in market-level post information as his son, a fellow silversmith and goldsmith involved in the shop’s active inventory and secondary-market presence.

The stylized M on this piece appears to be a variant form and does not match the standard Pete Morgan hallmark documented in major reference guides. A Navajo jewelry specialist reviewed photos of the hallmark and informally attributed the mark to Pete Morgan — a Navajo (Diné) silversmith and member of one of the better-known families in contemporary Navajo revival silverwork. Pete is the brother of the late master silversmith Harry Morgan and sandcast artist Henry Morgan, and the nephew of silversmiths Charlie Bitsui and Ike Wilson, both prominently represented in the historic C.G. Wallace Collection. The specialist noted that she has seen this same variant mark on other Broken Arrow Traders pieces, supporting a possible recurring workshop association between Pete Morgan and Kay Johnson's shop rather than a one-time occurrence.

SCJ presents this piece as a dual-marked, shop-stamped Broken Arrow Traders bolo tie with a Pete Morgan-associated hallmark. It is best understood within the collaborative world of Southwestern workshop production, where maker, shop, and market attribution can overlap in complex but meaningful ways.

✨ Collector inquiries are welcome. SCJ is open to thoughtful questions, documented observations, and new information that deepens the story of a piece. With permission, selected comments from our Members may be featured in our upcoming Collectors Circle Insights publications.