www.925-1000.com

The second I saw this belt buckle, I knew I had to have it. I've never seen anything quite like it before in regards to the sheer size of the turquoise. I've nicknamed it "The Championship Belt" due to its size and heft!

The reverse is hand-signed and hand-engraved with the carat weight of the center stone. I believe it reads: "T.E. Avery - (Picto Hallmark Signature) - S.S. - Center Stone 1060c".

Through my research, I've come up short on T.E. Avery. The only information I find on that name is an author who, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have a track record of producing jewelry or silver accessories of any kind. Perhaps he was involved with the mining of the turquoise, and the picto hallmark could be the signature of the silversmith?











Thanks again for your time.

Sincerely,
Scott

Are you certain Avery is a "T" and not a "J", as in James (but not necessarily in Texas).

Thank you for the reply.

I've considered that possibility, and it could very well be another letter besides a T, although that's what it looks like to me.

Apparently James Avery was born Homer James Avery, which would rule him out, since it is signed with an "E" as the middle initial.

Thanks again for the response...I'm still digging!

Sincerely,
Scott

Obviously not going to be an easy one. You have a mystery mark of capital "A" encircled under "T" or Half-Circle all looking like a rail line heading toward a horizon, that is, into the setting sun. We might quickly arrive at the Silversmith being an Avery, either T.E. Avery or else a possible relative if T.E. is the customer/client. Oddly, another (un-named) mystery mark on Sterling Silver has been previously recorded (words, no pictures) of "A" and half-circle spoked (sunset, wagon wheel??):
http://www.modernsilver.com/MYSTMARKS.html.
Not the exact same, but perhaps the hand-scratched mark evolved for maker "A". [I think we can throw out Two Eyed Avery as any kind of inside humor related to illustrator Tex for obvious reasons.]

Thank you so much for the input. I was thinking, if not a stylized TA, maybe it was a teepee in front of a horizon. However, I think your analysis is probably closer than mine. It sure does resemble a train track heading towards the horizon, within a circle.

The search continues!

Thanks again.

I think it is just T E Avery, but what else does it say on the back?

Hi Silverly and thank you for your input. There are a couple photos embedded that show the engravings on the reverse. It reads "T.E. Avery - (Picto Hallmark Signature) - S.S. - Center Stone 1060c".

I assume the S.S. is for sterling silver, and Center Stone 1060c is indicating the large turquoise weighs 1,060 carats.

Thanks again for your time.

Sincerely,
Scott

The symbol I have been trying to research :: If I had to guess, I would think it is a Zuni symbol, so all I can say at this point is that the piece is more likely to be Zuni rather than Navajo ::: I would search for a Zuni maker first ::::

Hi aguest and thank you for taking the time to research the symbol. I'm intrigued at the potential of it being a Zuni piece, due to the size of the stones. I'll report back with any additional info I run across. Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Scott

Mark concept similar to, but not matching, unidentified "02 A?" with rayed-sunset-over-A: http://www.art-amerindien.com/signature ... iens.htm#a