Chimney Butte Naja Pendant, Number 8 Turquoise, Scrollwork, Navajo Sterling
A naja pendant by Chimney Butte with a Number 8 turquoise teardrop wrapped in applied silver scrollwork, above a plain crescent.
Specifications
- Metal: Sterling silver
- Artist: Chimney Butte (Navajo)
- Made: 2026
- Stone: Number 8 turquoise, cabochon
- Length with bail: 4.1 inches (10.4 cm)
- Pendant drop: 3.3 inches (8.4 cm)
- Width at the widest point: 2.1 inches (5.3 cm)
- Weight: 66 grams
- Bail opening: 17 mm
Hallmarks
- Chimney Butte, script maker's stamp
- Sterling
Both marks are struck on the back. The Chimney Butte stamp is the maker's mark; Sterling is the silver standard.
About the Piece
The stone sits in a plain bezel with silver scrolls curling up either side of it and small domes tucked into the curves. Above and below it are starburst stamped conchos, small domed discs worked with radiating lines.
The turquoise is matrix heavy, a warm brown host rock with turquoise coming through in irregular patches rather than covering the face. That is characteristic of Number 8 and it is what the mine is collected for.
The crescent below is left plain and polished, which balances the busier upper half.
The Number 8 mine in Nevada closed in the 1960s, so the stone only comes from old stock now. It is prized for heavy golden brown to black spiderweb matrix.
Chimney Butte is a Navajo (Dine) silversmith working out of New Mexico in a deliberately old style idiom: heavy gauge sterling, deep hand stamping, repousse, sandcast work, and good named mine turquoise. The mark is one of the most recognisable in contemporary Southwestern silver, which is part of why the work holds its value. Every piece is stamped Chimney Butte and Sterling on the back.
Styling
It hangs from a wide stamped bail that takes a heavy chain, so it will sit on Navajo pearls, a thick box chain, or a leather cord without looking under hung. Worn alone it does all the work; it does not need layering.
Condition
Excellent. Newly made and unworn, with the deep oxidised finish the maker applies to the stamped recesses.
Please review all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description.
This listing is for the pendant only. Chains shown in photographs are for styling purposes and are not included.
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