“Every 10 years or so, the jewelry comes back into vogue and everybody wants it,” Tanner explains. “For the rest of us, it’s part of our lives.” Despite the whims of fashion, prices continue to rise steadily. Tanner estimates that high-quality pieces appreciate at roughly 12 percent per year. Collectors especially value jewelry from before 1910 for its rarity—but these pieces remain affordable. At Common Ground, a Pueblo dragonfly necklace from the 1900s costs $7,500.
 | | THE SILVER BEAR Claw necklace with blue gem Bisbee turquoise by Preston Monongye, circa late 1960s |
When determining the value of such a piece, experts take into consideration age, condition, beauty and provenance. When all these combine favorably, prices can soar, as they did at a sale of American Indian art at Christie’s in 2003. A Navajo sterling silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace, with an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000, sold for $15,535. Delia E. Sullivan, the Christie’s specialist in charge of American Indian Art, explains that this necklace fetched such an exceptional price because of its elegance and remarkable provenance. Contributing to its value, she says, is its “good weight”—it feels substantial in the hand, but not heavy on the body—its finely fluted “blossoms” and its handsome patina. The consignor had included a photograph, dated 1927, of the owner wearing the necklace, with Mabel Dodge Luhan, the heiress who helped transform Taos into a Bohemian community. The necklace proved not only a marvelous piece of jewelry, but also a piece of New Mexican history.
Stratospheric prices notwithstanding, auction houses can be an excellent source of impressive values because they are outside of the locus of the Native American market, centered in galleries, trading posts and annual markets in the Southwest. Unless the consignor insists on a high estimate, auction house specialists tend to price lots low as an enticement for dealers.
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