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A magnificent and most perfectly crafted vintage McKee Platero Navajo silver cuff bracelet, c. 2000

How great is great? How high is up? Masterpieces like this make you ask questions like these. We have been buying and selling McKEE Platero’s (b.1957) extraordinary Navajo silverwork for around 40 years now and we can say without a doubt that this is one of the very finest pieces of his that we have ever seen. They are all extremely good, many are exceptional, and a fortunate few are truly world-class and this bracelet is one of those top of the totem pole pieces, in our experienced view.

Where to start here? At the beginning, naturally, with the heavy hand-forged cast silver shank perfectly formed, chiseled and stamped to utter perfection. To say the work here is flawlessly done is to understate it by half, it is utterly exceptional in every aspect and words fail to adequately communicate its essential essence. It literally breathes and radiates beauty and elegance and technical refinement of the highest level. This is as close as you will ever come to perfection in design and execution in the realm of Navajo jewelry.

This is precisely why Platero is considered the greatest Navajo jeweler of his generation and one of the greatest of all times in the exalted company of Kenneth Begay, Fred Peshlakai and Slender-Maker-of-Silver. There is a reason why museums and collectors the world over clamor for McKee’s pieces and this is it. In Japan, he is approaching the status of a national hero of sorts with acolytes tattooing his likeness on their bodies and speaking of him in almost worshipful tones, “Matsuki Puratero” as he is revered there, almost as if he were an ancient samurai swordsmith working his magic with metal.

“Platero comes from a family of silversmiths, his grandfather

and his uncles were known for their heavy silver jewellery with deep and precise stampwork, and Platero continues this tradition.”

-The British Museum

McKee Platero in Santa Fe, 1998

The design here is somewhat deceptive looking. At first glance, one might mistake it for being a somewhat simple row design until you look a bit more closely and carefully at the intricate complexity and utter perfection of the alternating rows of chisel worked and stamped designs running in different directions. The detail and precision in evidence is magnificent and overwhelming, requiring a level of skill and concentration on the part of the maker that is awe inspiring and almost impossible to contemplate.

The bracelet measures a very nicely-sized 1 1/2" in continuous width all the way around. The inner circumference end-to-end is 6 1/16" and the gap between the terminals is 1 3/16" for a total inner circumference of 7 1/4". The heavy silver shank is nearly 1/8" in thickness. The bracelet weighs a very substantial 116 grams or 4 1/8 ounces, over a quarter-pound of silver goodness, yet it sits quite comfortably on the wrist. The condition is remarkably excellent for its 20 or so years of age, essentially like new as if it had just come off the bench except for a few tiny, almost imperceptible nicks here and there and a very nice slightly aged patina.

The bracelet is proudly and properly signed on the interior with McKee Platero’s early period classic and customary signature of three stamped dots in a row which signifies the three stars in the belt of the star constellation, Orion the Hunter in the night sky which Platero was always fascinated by as a young boy and

which he subsequently adopted as his “signature”. Because of its design and its significant heft and its simple

three dots only signature, we would date this bracelet to the 1995-2005 period, in our opinions, but it could certainly be a few years earlier or later.

That’s about all there is to say here, this is an utterly iconic piece from a true artistic icon, “insanely great” as the late Apple Computer co-founder, Steve Jobs would occasionally say about something which particularly moved him. Impress yourself, scare your friends and terrify your enemies with this magnificent piece. It is quite literally the jewelry manifestation of the Navajo ideal state of human existence, to “Walk in Beauty” which you will most certainly do while in the presence of this beautiful, precious piece.

Price available upon request

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