Does any know what stone this is? Taxco 950 Inlay Bracelet

[palidin20603]

Chunky at 58 grams. 950 silver TL 63 taxco. The stone is deep blue with green patches, medium green. Any thoughts?

 

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[randazzo1]

It's awesome! Azurite occurring with malachite - also known as Chrysocolla or Alaska Opal.

 

[palidin20603]

damn! you da man! Are you in the jewelry industry?

 

[palidin20603]

Paid $25 and I don't feel bad about it

 

[randazzo1]

Paid $25 and I don't feel bad about it

Agreed. I would ask at least 160.00 on ebay and 200.00 brick and mortar. More if you've got a good customer base.

Thanks. I am in the jewelry business.

 

[palidin20603]

damn, gotta fix my listing!

 

[Grundestoun]

Just curious how someone can make such an accurate description from a photo that is dark and not the best quality. Are you a certified gemologist? That's good!!

 

[cyberdan]

Just curious how someone can make such an accurate description from a photo that is dark and not the best quality. Are you a certified gemologist? That's good!!

That deep blue is a dead giveaway. I was going to guess Azurite just by the photo.

 

[palidin20603]

better pics

 

[prospect007]

how about lapis?

 

[vpnavy]

Nice buy - however, that is one ugly ring! Thanks for sharing...

 

[twiasp]

Tried to research the hallmark for you but Mexican hallmarks are rough to look up. I did find a bracelet with the same TL 63 mark, and in it was this excerpt...."This bracelet is Hallmarked as Made in Taxco by artist whose hallmark is listed on page 120 of author Bille Hougart's valuable reference volume, "The Little Book of Mexican Silver Trade & Hallmarks - 2001".

Other searches I saw mentions of William Spratling, unsure if it his or not.

 

[GibH]

Lapis doesn't have any green in it.

 

[palidin20603]

Tried to research the hallmark for you but Mexican hallmarks are rough to look up. I did find a bracelet with the same TL 63 mark, and in it was this excerpt...."This bracelet is Hallmarked as Made in Taxco by artist whose hallmark is listed on page 120 of author Bille Hougart's valuable reference volume, "The Little Book of Mexican Silver Trade & Hallmarks - 2001".

Other searches I saw mentions of William Spratling, unsure if it his or not.

Not Spratling because he died in 1967. He did have an Eagle Mark 63 in the late 60s. The only modern mark for his work is TS 24 and those are repros of his designs.

 

[gunsil]

It's awesome! Azurite occurring with malachite - also known as Chrysocolla or Alaska Opal.

Azurite with malachite certainly does not equal chrysocolla. They are all copper minerals, and occur in the same places, but the names are not interchangeable.

 

[palidin20603]

Azurite with malachite certainly does not equal chrysocolla. They are all copper minerals, and occur in the same places, but the names are not interchangeable.

The azurite with Malachite is correct. The chrysocolla is different stone from what I can see.

 

[gunsil]

It is hard to tell from the poor photos exactly what is going on with the bracelet. It certainly looks like it could be azurite/malachite. BUT, azurite/malachite is very soft and really unsuitable for bracelets. Especially in as thin a slice as would be necessary for the bracelet's design. It is more likely azurite and malachite which has been crushed and epoxy filled to make the panels. This is how a lot of the "inlay" work is done in Mexican and Native American jewelry. I do cut and polish azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, and combinations thereof, sometimes with cuprite or shattuckite mixed in. Except for the highly agatized "gem silica" or "gem chrsocolla" these stones are really more suited for necklace and earring applications due to the fact that they scratch easily and are easily broken by impact.

 

[randazzo1]

The azurite with Malachite is correct. The chrysocolla is different stone from what I can see.

Agreed. Your are spot on. I was a bit hasty there. All those hydrates, suflates, carbonates....

I know the pictures aren't great but I can see it's an awesome piece regardless. We've sold hundreds of pieces of Mexican jewelry with this outrageous combo. Heavy bracelets like that demand a premium. They can sometimes take a while to sell, but you'll get an excellent return. Don't worry about who the artist is. It's a Taxco studio piece and that's enough. I would guess 1980's-1990's. In general, I won't sell even the "unknown" taxco pieces like that for under $3.00 per gram.

 

[randazzo1]

It is hard to tell from the poor photos exactly what is going on with the bracelet. It certainly looks like it could be azurite/malachite. BUT, azurite/malachite is very soft and really unsuitable for bracelets. Especially in as thin a slice as would be necessary for the bracelet's design. It is more likely azurite and malachite which has been crushed and epoxy filled to make the panels. This is how a lot of the "inlay" work is done in Mexican and Native American jewelry. I do cut and polish azurite, malachite, chrysocolla, and combinations thereof, sometimes with cuprite or shattuckite mixed in. Except for the highly agatized "gem silica" or "gem chrsocolla" these stones are really more suited for necklace and earring applications due to the fact that they scratch easily and are easily broken by impact.

I think it's natural. Stabilized maybe, but it doesn't look like crushed or powdered/reconstituted material to me. I'll post some photos of super cool raw material and a nice inlaid bracelet / necklace combo.

 

[randazzo1]

Azurite with malachite certainly does not equal chrysocolla. They are all copper minerals, and occur in the same places, but the names are not interchangeable.

Agreed. I was always under the impression that with chysocolla the blue was from azurite and the green from malachite. I just flipped through a mineral text and it looks a lot more complicated than that!