Vintage Navajo Lapis and Silver Bracelet

In a lovely departure from turquoise, this vintage Navajo silver bracelet is set with a single rectangular lapis stone that extends the width of the cuff's parallel silver lines or tracks.

It's a vintage bracelet circa 1990 done in an eye catching contemporary design. 

Lapis Lazuli is one of a few other stones you'll find most often used in Navajo jewelry as a beautiful alternative to the much more ubiquitous turquoise. Lapis is a wonderful gemstone with a rich history spanning multiple ancient cultures including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Minoans, and Persians. In fact, it's one of the oldest recorded opaque gemstones. Interestingly, the death mask of King Tutankhamen is inlaid with both lapis lazuli AND turquoise (along with carnelian). How neat is that!

By the Middle Ages, Michelangelo demanded to use Lapis Lazuli ground into pigment for the brilliant blue ultramarine paint that would ultimately adorn the Sistine Chapel in its exquisite, heavenly blue hue. 

It's only appropriate, then, that our talented modern-day Native American jewelers also use Lapis Lazuli.

If you look closely, you'll see tiny flecks of mica in this fine lapis stone. Used here, the sparkling mica is reminiscent of twinkling stars in a deep blue night sky. So cool!

This bracelet comes from an exceptional Illinois collection of fine contemporary Native American jewelry including pieces by Charles Loloma, Sonwai, and Gail Bird and Yazzie Johnson. Its original owner didn't keep records, though, and it is unsigned except for the "sterling" stamp. (Please keep all your receipts. They're important!)

Bracelet measures 5 1/4" plus a 1 1/8" opening and 1" width.

Let's hope that its beauty will continue on as long as King Tut's mask.