5-row Petit Point cuff bracelet- Zuni 171
$800.00
Vintage 1970’s 5-row bracelet. Handcrafted by a Zuni artist in the style called ” Petit Point” . This unique cuff bracelet is set in solid sterling silver and genuine Lone Mountain turquoise. Detailed stamping by the artist can be seen on the ends of each row in the silver. Measuring 1″ in width with an inside measurement of 5 1/4″ and a 1 1/8″ opening. This is a medium sized bracelet. A classic and traditional piece of old style Zuni jewelry.
For proper sizing please see our Wrist Sizing Video
5-row Petit Point cuff bracelet- Zuni 171 Details
*Petit Point
Petit Point jewelry refers to cluster-work that is made up of stones that are pear-shaped: oval on one end and pointed on the opposite. This type of work is typically made in round and oval designs, but other shapes are possible. This style is made the Zuni and Navajo tribes
Combining many stones into one piece makes some of the most beautiful and exciting Native American jewelry. Depending on how the stones are cut, this style of combining stones can be called Cluster-Work, Needle Point, Petit Point and Snake Eyes. These four styles emerged in the early 1920’s-1940’s and are primarily made by the Zuni Tribe, although some Navajos will make similar designs. These styles have a feminine quality to them, as the stones are set in small and elegant settings.
These designs are very tedious as each bezel (the silver holding the stone) is individually shaped and solder. Then the stones are cut, glued to matchsticks, then shaped and polished with a series of grinding wheel. In addition to these styles there is also the Zuni Inlay. This is the gathering of real stones (most often turquoise, coral, mother-of-pearl, and black jet) carved and assembled by hand to create a geometric pattern.
Lone Mountain Turquoise
The Lone Mountain Turquoise Mine, near Tonopah, Nevada, was one of the leading producers of fine turquoise in Nevada. It was discovered by Lee Hand in 1920 and filed under the name of Blue Jay Mining Lode. At first it was called the Blue Jay Mine on Lone Mountain and later just Lone Mountain. It is presently closed.
As with most mines, it was at first a tunnel and shaft project but when Menless Winfield bought the mine it was made an open pit operation. The turquoise from this mine is mostly good to high-grade and usually in the form of nuggets although there is a quantity of vein material. A very interesting occurrence of turquoise found here is a condition where the turquoise was deposited in cavities or molds left when parts of fossil plants were dissolved out of a harder rock. The turquoise is graded into golden matrix, black matrix and spider web. At present, most of it is cut and polished or the nuggets drilled and polished at the mine, making this is a very collectible turquoise, and rarely available in rough form.
