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An outstanding vintage Navajo Sterling silver and

Blue Diamond, Nevada turquoise ring by Roger Skeet, Jr. for the C.G. Wallace Trading Post, c. 1950’s-60's

Talk about turquoise power! One rarely ever sees such an electrifying stone. High-grade Blue Diamond turquoise from Nevada is justifiably considered to be one of the finest gem turquoise varieties in existence and this stone is one of the most extraordinary examples that we have ever seen. Based on its impressive size (1” length, 3/4” width, 3/16” height over the bezel) and its very high-domed profile, we would estimate the weight of this stone at being around 20 carats.

The ring’s skilled maker is the renowned Navajo silversmith, Roger Skeet Jr., (b.1933) who originally learned silversmithing as an eight-year old boy at his famous Father’s knee, who was the also renowned Navajo silversmith, Roger Skeet Sr. Skeet Sr. made jewelry for many years for the prominent Navajo and Zuni Indian trader, Charles Garrett (C.G.) Wallace. Roger Skeet Jr. worked for years alongside his Father at C.G. Wallace’s Trading Post until Skeet Sr.’s death in 1959. One of the main benefits of working for an important trader with a high-end clientele such as C.G. Wallace was having access to the finest quality materials and tools for making jewelry and it is quite likely that C.G. Wallace’s well known reputation for wanting to buy the finest turquoise available for use at his post was how this fantastic turquoise stone was originally acquired.

"It was known from the beginning by all miners that the place to sell all their big turquoise was C.G. Wallace's."

-C.G. Wallace, 1975

Above, C.G. Wallace with some of his Native silversmiths at his trading post at Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, c. 1920's.

Photo source and © Sotheby Parke Bernet

Blue Diamond Turquoise

The Blue Diamond mine, located in central Nevada, opened in the late 1950’s and was mined up to 1980. This mine is considered a “hat mine” of which there are very few. A hat mine is a small deposit of turquoise that, “you can cover with your hat.” The stones that the mine produces, which are usually large pieces of plate form, looks a great deal like Stormy Mountain turquoise because of its black smoky matrix. This stone features dark smoky matrix surrounded by a brilliant blue, The characteristic black chert is ever-present. This mine is now closed and buried under thousands of tons of rock.

For this exceptional ring, Roger Skeet Jr. set the large stone in a very finely-serrated silver bezel atop a triple chisel-split silver shank. The sides of the shank are capped with fabricated silver panels which are most beautifully

and precisely decorated with lovely stampwork designs. The ring measures a fairly large size 11 3/4 on a professional graduated ring sizer and it weighs 11 grams or 3/8 of an ounce. The ring is properly signed “RS” on the interior in Roger Skeet’s customary initials signature and it is also marked “Sterling”. The ring is in generally excellent original overall condition with some minor age-appropriate wear for its 60 or 70 years of age.

This ring is a really sensational piece in every way by one of Navajo silversmithing’s all-time greats.

You might say that on a quality scale of 1-10, it’s an 11.

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