Item 1064H- Vintage Navajo Cast Sterling Silver Square Checkerboard Cuff Links
Item 1064H- Vintage Navajo Cast Sterling Silver Square Checkerboard Cuff Links
Very old Navajo sandcast carinated sterling silver checkerboard cufflinks. The silversmith has created a sandcast version of carinated sterling silver checkerboards. From looking up close, it appears the checkerboards were made way before being converted into cufflinks. Early Navajo silversmithing would make the triangular wire from heating round wire to a soft easily managed and pull the round wire through a three-sided dye to create the carination of the wire which in turn was named carinated for the triangular finished product. It appears to be what or how these were made. Seems to me if the complete checkerboard was fully cast they would be exactly the same. These are very similar, but not exactly the same. The clasp were attached later. If correct, it would make the checkerboards made pre-1940’s.
