816ct Stormy Mountain Turquoise Navajo Pendant with Fluted Sterling Pearls View Watchlist >
- Winning Bid: $2,100.25
- 94 Bid(s) View Bid History
- High Bidder: zorsky
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Lot # HK164
System ID # 24297647
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3 Watching
816ct Stormy Mountain Turquoise Navajo Pendant with Fluted Sterling Pearls
This necklace is a work of museum quality, uniting rarity, scale, and artistry. At its center is a monumental 816-carat Stormy Mountain turquoise cabochon, bezel-set in heavy sterling silver. The stone’s rich blue body, alive with dramatic black chert veining, exemplifies the turbulent skies that gave the Nevada mine its name. Most turquoise cabochons weigh under 200 carats; at over four times that, this example is virtually without equal.
The silverwork is commanding. The pendant is framed with a scalloped border, accented with applied leaves and flowing wire, hallmarks of mid-to-late 20th-century Navajo silversmithing at its most ambitious. It hangs from a double strand of 94 hand-wrought fluted sterling beads—authentic Navajo pearls. Each bead is crafted from two soldered halves and carefully fluted, producing vertical ridges that catch the light. This bead style is significantly more labor-intensive and silver-heavy than smooth forms, marking it as high-end work. Sterling cones and a hand-forged hook clasp complete the piece. Altogether, the necklace weighs an imposing 441 grams, a true statement of presence and craftsmanship.
The Stormy Mountain mine in Elko County, Nevada, discovered in the early 1970s, produced only a short yield before closing permanently. Its turquoise is prized for hardness, intense blue coloration, and dramatic matrix, but supply was limited. Today, closed-mine material is rarely encountered, and stones of this magnitude are virtually unobtainable.
Turquoise in Navajo tradition is more than ornament: it is a protector, a link to the sky and to water. To wear this necklace is to embody both artistry and meaning. To collect it is to secure a masterwork—a piece of a quality suitable for institutional collections, representing Navajo jewelry at its boldest.
Dimensions
- Length: 28 inches
- Pendant: 6.75 × 3 × 0.5 inches
- Stone: 816 carats (139.77 × 57.37 × 5.6 mm)
- Beads: (94) fluted sterling beads, approx. 8.8 mm each
- Weight: 441 grams
- Finish: Sterling cones and traditional hook clasp
Condition
Good condition overall. The turquoise stone is secure within its bezel. Light surface wear and natural tarnish consistent with age. The silver has been left unpolished to preserve its patina.
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Please Note:
- Diamond and gemstone weights, colors, and clarity grades are approximate and determined while mounted.
- Treatment of colored stones, pearls, and other gemstones to enhance their appearance is common; these treatments may or may not be noted.
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