Western Jewelry and Bolo Ties: How to Buy Real Turquoise and Genuine Native-Made Pieces

The law: what “Native American made” has to mean

A 2006 release from the FTC and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board says the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 “makes it illegal to advertise or sell any art or craft in a way that falsely suggests it is produced by an American Indian or is the product of a particular American Indian tribe.”

Their advice for buyers:

• Buy from established dealers who give a written guarantee or verification of authenticity.
• Insist that what the salesperson says goes on the receipt: the materials, how it was made and who made it. Their example wording is “sterling silver and natural turquoise and was handmade by an American Indian artisan.”
• To complain, call 1-888-ART-FAKE or visit www.iacb.doi.gov. The FTC takes complaints on 1-877-FTC-HELP.

That release is from 2006, so check iacb.doi.gov for current guidance. The same rule applies on Western Makers Hub: a listing can only say “Native American made” if it is true, or it comes down.

Natural, stabilized, reconstituted, dyed: what the words mean

These definitions come from one dealer, Chipeta Trading Company, which sells turquoise. Read them as a dealer’s explanation, not an official standard.

Term	What the dealer says it means
Natural	Stone as it came out of the ground. “Natural or raw stones have imperfections, cracks and occlusions that do not appear in treated or stabilized turquoise.”
Stabilized (also called treated)	Genuine turquoise put under pressure so it absorbs epoxy or plastic filler, which hardens it and fills cracks. The dealer calls it “not a bad product as it is harder and less likely to break or crack”.
Reconstituted (chalk)	“Fragments of turquoise and their crushed powder forms, which is then mixed with plastics to make harder blocks that can be cut into stones shapes.”
Dyed plastic imitation	Dyed plastics “that contained no turquoise at all”.

On price, the same dealer says stabilized turquoise “should be much less expensive than gem-quality pieces with natural stones.”

Why you can’t always tell by looking

In GIA’s Gems & Gemology (Fall 2015), researchers examined a 15.21-gram turquoise sphere that had been both dyed and impregnated with three materials: an acrylic polymer, an epoxy resin and silicone. Finding all of that took UV fluorescence, infrared spectroscopy, chemical analysis and UV-visible spectroscopy. The authors wrote that “This is the first time we have encountered turquoise that was dyed and impregnated with three components.”

That is a lab case, not a typical piece. It does show why a seller’s disclosure and a written receipt matter more than anything you can test at a market stall.

What to ask for

• Is the stone natural, stabilized, reconstituted or dyed? Get the answer written on the receipt.
• Who made the piece? If the seller says Native American or names a tribe, ask for the artist’s name and have it written down.
• What is the setting made of, and is it marked?
• What is the return policy if the description turns out to be wrong?

The bolo tie in brief

A bolo tie is, in Wikipedia’s definition, “a piece of cord or braided leather with decorative metal tips (called aiguillettes) and secured with an ornamental clasp or slide.”

• Who: Victor Cedarstaff of Wickenburg, Arizona, claims to have invented it in the late 1940s.
• The patent: his slide, US patent 2,896,217, titled “Slide for a Necktie”, was filed on May 24, 1954 and granted on July 28, 1959. The patent describes a slide that can lock the braid in place at the collar, or let it slide freely when the braid is pressed.
• Official status: Arizona made the bolo tie its official neckwear on April 22, 1971. New Mexico made it binding law in 2007, and Texas also adopted it in 2007 (Wikipedia).

You will see 1947 given as the patent date in some places. The patent itself shows the 1954 filing and 1959 grant.

What we couldn’t find

Prices from jewelry makers. They vary too widely to quote responsibly, and we would rather show makers’ own published prices once they list on Western Makers Hub.