Genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Coral Bear Claw Jewelry Sterling Silver Belt Buckle

This Turquoise Coral Bear Claw Jewelry Sterling Silver Belt Buckle is an outstanding piece of hand-made jewelry. This Belt Buckle features four nuggets of genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise (the Tiffany of Turquoise), two nuggets of genuine Coral, and a Bear Claw. The Turquoise and Coral artfully contrast one another with their natural cool and hot colors. Native American jewelry artists often use Turquoise and Coral in their work to honor the Father Sky and Mother Earth. A hand-twisted Sterling Silver wire, Sterling Silver feather and flower figures and hand-made Sterling Silver dots offer this belt buckle extra detail. This Belt Buckle is 2-3/4" wide and 3-1/2" long with a 2" wide keeper on the back. This buckle was created by Tim Wiehe or Bo Turnbo, both excellent silversmiths. Stamped Sterling. Signed by the artist Lucky.

Tim Wiehe began making jewelry in a high school class 35 years ago. He apprenticed and worked for silversmiths for several years before launching his own business, called Lost Cabin Black Hills Jewelry. His Black Hills style uses materials such as elk ivory, buffalo horn, rose quartz, jade and agate set in gold or silver. He uses modern technology and older crafting techniques to make his jewelry. His hand-made jewelry is designed, stones are sliced with a diamond saw, shaped with a silicon carbide sanding belt and attached to a silver bezel. It is then soldered to a silver sheet and surrounded with silver or gold triangle wire, which he may put tiny cuts in. One method he uses is lost wax casting, a detailed and time-consuming process. Tim works out of a hidden treasure gift shop for which he makes pieces. His work is a combination of Southwestern tradition and Black Hills nature.