Navajo “Kaleidoscope” Inlay Set
United States · Sterling Silver
$2,289.95
- Maker
- Unbranded
- Origin
- United States
- Era
- Navajo Artisan · Sterling · One of a kind
- Materials
- Sterling Silver
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Provenance
- A three-piece torque necklace and earrings in sterling, laid with meticulous stone inlay that earns its name — a kaleidoscope held still. Each piece is signed on the reverse; all three are of a single hand, and there is only this one set.
On this piece
A torque is the oldest form a necklace takes — a single curved band that opens at the throat — and Navajo hands have been raising it in silver for generations. This one-of-a-kind set earns its name: “Kaleidoscope,” for the meticulous multi-stone inlay running the length of the collar and matching earrings, each fragment cut and fitted by hand into a mosaic of color. Inlay of this precision is patient, unforgiving work — one poorly seated stone and the whole line is off — and here every seam is clean. All three pieces are signed sterling on the reverse. It is described, rightly, as heirloom quality, the kind of thing that leaves a family only when it must. The necklace sits close and wide at the throat, the way a torque should, so the eye reads the whole sweep of stonework at once. Wearable, but really: art you keep.