A natural cabochon turquoise silver ring set onto a hand hammered ring. This ring has a great presence on the finger and is dictated by the beauty of the large and polished turquoise center stone. With a stone like this there is not much cause to add any stamping or excessive detail to the mount. The stone is so eye catching and vibrant that any adornment would detract from its beauty. The simple and quite wide band that the stone setting is soldered onto is a beautiful hand hammered silver band. This finish is achieved by hand working the silver with a small clean and rounded hammer. The striking into the silver creates this natural looking textured finish. The style of this ring is possibly that of the Navajo Native American tribe, and was likely made by a jeweler from this tribe. The Navajo tribe, now located in occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico, was the first Native American group to learn Mexican silversmithing techniques. Navajo artist Atsidi Chon then taught the art to a member of the Zuni tribe. For the Native American culture, Turquoise signified water and sky, for bountiful harvests, health and protection turquoise and was also used to visually showcase their individuality, rank and history. The turquoise stone set into the ring is thought to be ‘Lander Blue' turquoise. This Lander Blue turquoise material came from a mine in Lander County, Nevada, which a picnicker discovered in 1973! It produces some of the most beautiful spider-web turquoise ever mined. It is the rarest and the most valuable turquoise in the world. Miners find less than 110 pounds of this beautiful spider-web turquoise. It is a stunning example of turquoise and in wonderful condition. It has this wonderful fine webbing running through it, and this misty eye catching blue hue. The ring is not marked, which is sometimes the case. Therefore the maker couldn't be identified, but is believed to be a Navajo silversmith. The ring is a size 8.5. This ring cannot really be sized as it will likely ruin the hand hammered finish to the band. However, it is a size that will fit most hands.
