Biker Rings/Vintage Jewellery thread

[Iron Horse]

Edit: double post.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Iron Horse

[Iron Horse]

Edit: triple post.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Iron Horse

[aho]

A wonderful piece aho; who or where is it from? Fred Harvey?

 

Thanks! It's a contemporary piece by Ron Bedonie with Bisbee turquoise and is all hand stamped, hammered and filed...I'll have to get some other shots later on but the details are insane in real life! He does my favorite bezel work and is famous for his deep filing and stamping as well. 

[Broark]

So, I finally have a contribution for this thread...

Good Art HLYWD Model 10 A bracelet, courtesy of fellow forum member Ben!

I would say it fits a bit on the loose side, but I think that's the intended goal if I'm not mistaken.

Glad I finally scored one, as it's been my grail silver item for some time now.

Now to wear it daily!

[Iron Horse]

Congrats Broark on the nice, heavyweight piece!

 

I got a Goro's eagle head hook in, so I did a little work to add it and the Goro's medallion to my First Arrow's setup:

 

 

 

[Dylan]

All from Antique malls, with the exception of the Good Art ring. I have a couple more, but they turned out to not be all silver, so they turn my fingers green, and as such, I don't wear them.

 

 

[Iron Horse]

I'd hate to get walloped on the kisser by someone wearing that top turquoise ring.

[pineappleguy16]

Is there any meaning for the feather pendant to curve left or right?

[itsbenhere]

Unless you're Native American you best not be wearing a feather!!!!!

[FreeCharlesManson]

Unless you're Native American you best not be wearing a feather!!!!!

I'm having flashback to the SDA thread 

[Frost]

I'm having flashback to the SDA thread 

 

[Iron Horse]

Is there any meaning for the feather pendant to curve left or right?

 

No meaning, just a look.

 

@Ben, you're killing me 

[Iron Horse]

Shameless plug: A Goro's up for sale:

 

http://supertalk.superfuture.com/index.php/topic/159397-fs-samurai-jeans-undershirt-l-sun-surf-aloha-shirt-15-12/

[Iron Horse]

Taro Washimi pieces came in yesterday; he's a one-man artist from Tokyo who makes all his pieces by hand:

Close-up of the eagle:

Edited September 28, 2015 by Iron Horse

[Iron Horse]

Also put together this bracelet with a Goro's pendant, and leftover hooks from my First Arrow's setup. 

 

[kiya]

Love this thread, but the title is a little misleading, i'm not seeing any biker rings! 

It's sad for me to see so many Japanese "artists" buying beads made of ceramic and silver in bulk and stringing them together on a rope and calling themselves "jewelry makers".  The respected artists from New Mexico/Arizona/Colorado which make this style of jewelry would never buy the smaller pieces of their jewelry, they would be made in-house by their own family.  But nearly every single Native American style jewelry maker i've visited in Japan buys their small pieces in bulk, mostly from the big year jem/jewerly show in Tucson.  It goes against what happens in the vintage repro clothing industry in Japan where brands have their own buttons made, exact stitching thread made, etc.. 

Edited September 28, 2015 by kiya

[Iron Horse]

Where's a good place online to buy some Native American-made beads?

[aho]

kiya, great post, thank you for stating what's been on my mind! While I respect the Japanese admiration for Native jewelry and what it's become in the Japanese market, there's also a fine line of what some might call "cultural appropriation" and understanding that for many native artists, this is their livelihood and how they feed their families (channeling the Indian Arts and Crafts Act here). I do have respect for guys like Goro's who are doing something different (Indeed, this is more a "Sterling Silver and Jewelry" thread) but it tends to be a slippery slope when things become "trend" and market demand leads to mass production and throwing away of quality and intrinsic meaning behind the object. For this reason, my preference is always buying native, direct from the artist when possible. 

 

On that note, I have something special in the works in the way of a custom order. Should be completed around mid-October

[Flipflop214]

http://www.13luckymonkey.blogspot.com

 

Found these guys who makes really neat rings, beads, etc. 

[Iron Horse]

Not bad. Still, I don't see the problem in using trade beads at times. After all, it was the introduction of European-made beads by traders that helped Indians create many art and crafts traditions. As far as I know, most beads they would have used starting in the 18th century would have been made abroad.

AFAIK, in Japan, Taro Washimi and Larry Smith make their own beads.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Iron Horse

[kiya]

Not bad. Still, I don't see the problem in using trade beads at times. After all, it was the introduction of European-made beads by traders that helped Indians create many art and crafts traditions. As far as I know, most beads they would have used starting in the 18th century would have been made abroad.

AFAIK, in Japan, Taro Washimi and Larry Smith make their own beads.

 

Did you read that on Wikipedia or a blog somewhere?  Because it's not true.  (and for some reason i read the same thing recently written on a blog or bead site).

Indians did use some imported beads, but mainly for vests, headdresses, etc..  Not really for jewelry, which was always looked at as a symbol of true craft within the tribes, hence why so many Indians studied to be jewelers.

Edited September 29, 2015 by kiya

[Iron Horse]

Yes, it was on a fur trader website; too bad there's so much misinformation out there, but I suppose everyone has their agenda.

Anyway, I quite like the look of white heart beads with silver feather/eagle/etc. necklaces, regardless of the authenticity. The way the light catches the glass is appealing, and since they're small they're generally proportionate, so they don't overpower the silver pendants, IMO.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Iron Horse

[itsbenhere]

I'm a bad person... truthfully all I really care about is how something looks, its quality, and then lastly if the brand feels legit/cool to me. 

 

I'm not going to buy something that I like the looks of less just because it's the most authentic, or because I'll feel I was buying into "cultural appropriation" if I bought something else. Ideally I'd like the most "authentic" thing the most, and that's often the case, but not always. 

 

Usually it seems like japanese stuff has a certain quality (design, execution) that I find WAY more appealing than the authentic or western counterparts. 

 

Still will never buy overpriced goros though...

 

And yeah, the name of this thread should just be changed to Jewelry. 

[kiya]

 

And yeah, the name of this thread should just be changed to Jewelry. 

 

There's already a jewelry thread and it's mostly filled with high-fashion stuff, some of it is actually kinda cool.

This thread should be called Jewelry for Denim Heads, or something of that nature.  Because it seems that native american jewelry, Good Art, biker rings, etc.. all sort of fall under the category of "i'm really into my jeans but also like jewelry".

[itsbenhere]

Exactly, I was just thinking that since this thread was in superdenim it would be self-explanatory that it would be jewelry for denimheads...

 

I've seen the jewelry thread, I'm sure I'd find the jewelry of the average superdenim poster more my speed.

[fre-co]

Here's my ring from Dogstate, here in London. Toshi is an excellent dude to do business with. He came by bike to meet me to choose a ring and then delivered it by hand for no cost.

 

[itsbenhere]

Got a little something something today! Good Art HLYWD Model 10B!

 

 

Probably one of my most genuine smiles. I think it's a perfect fit too. I measured my wrist myself but waited until I could get Rachel herself from GA to do it since I was that paranoid... she got the exact same measurement but still nice to know it's as good as it could get!

 

[CatKillah]

Love the tread, great stuff guys.

 

I've been buying from Versani New York for quite some time, the designer Ara has quite ingenious designs, I like them better than Good Art Hollywood. If you are in Soho area, I would suggest you pay them a visit on Mercer.

 

[GregoryH]

There's already a jewelry thread and it's mostly filled with high-fashion stuff, some of it is actually kinda cool.

This thread should be called Jewelry for Denim Heads, or something of that nature.  Because it seems that native american jewelry, Good Art, biker rings, etc.. all sort of fall under the category of "i'm really into my jeans but also like jewelry".

Hey, been absent for a while here but figured I would check in and saw all of this haha

I created the thread with the idea that people would be posting more along the lines of what the title said. I've recently taken to collecting Mexican souvenir rings, biker rings and other vintage jewellery (mostly rings, signets etc.) and I wanted to see what other denim heads had in terms of those items, however it seems that the Goro/native inspired stuff has taken over, which is a non-issue for me personally. Knowing there is an existing jewellery thread I wanted to create something a bit more specific, oh well...can't win them all

[aho]

The eagle has landed...

 

Custom made bracelet featuring natural Black Spiderweb Kingman turquoise, Sleeping Beauty turquoise and coral. The artist ended up taking it to a show before sending it out to me and it won a ribbon in Contemporary Jewelry category. Not sure I'll ever take this off! It also features a four directions/cross design on either end (not pictured).