Silver Buckle choices
Looking for a sterling silver and turquoise buckle. Meant to be a reasonably subtle accent piece for denim and tailoring so I’m thinking a single centre fit cabochon on some stamped silver. Alternatives are a concho, Oppenheimer style square buckle, tufa cast for a more ornamental look or the out there stunning but less versatile ranger set. Appreciate thoughts and alternatives as always. Images are examples of each not a specific option.
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I personally like all the buckles more than the ranger sets. The set is cool I just like a lot of hardware to go with the jewel/stone part. Silver ostrich has a bunch of examples of belts with the sets tho. Brycelands has various inspo with the buckles as well
Yeah Brycelands have the Oppenheimer repro buckle which is very tempting but I don’t think I want a straight repro from a movie. Red rabbit is their manufacturer which is where the concho in the first pic is from.
I like a single piece in the centre of a lot of silver I think it’ll work in way more fits.
I’m going to pitch that you should look for some native artists
I realize turquoise isn’t a specifically native rock but like, it has a lot of cultural heritage there and I’m positive there’s some folks doing some really great belt buckles
Chipeta Trading sells actual vintage items and the proceeds fund various scholarships and stuff
https://www.instagram.com/chipetatrading/
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Do you have a favorite online place?
if you want it to be "reasonably subtle" i would go with a square one.
I think another factor to think about is a: the width of the belt and b: the scale of the buckle. I have a relatively small square one, and I feel the size relation between belt and buckle is kinda important.
Mine is very subtle, which is sometimes quite useful, but sometimes I also wish it was larger.
Another question is patina: Do you want something slightly tarnished or something thats very polished and clean.
I will say that there are plenty of nice ones on etsy and ebay as well, often originally by native artists.
But also now I want more belt buckles
damn you elevander!
I don’t have any recs for this, I shockingly don’t have any turquoise stuff lol
For the two good pieces I have I did. I've snagged a couple <$50 vintage bits but I'd always get the real deal if I'm spending.
Love tarnish. I hesitate to spend a lot on vintage since it's not going to the artist but the one beans linked seems like a good compromise.
prices are :401k: 😬
The prices are insane fr but they’re actually vintage and he’s super knowledgeable. It’s really cool but when I saw him in Santa Fe I was not enough of a baller to drop a band on a bracelet
https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/comments/sknpp0/looking_for_native_jewellers/
Here's a Reddit thread with some good recs
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Considering: Left is a v small 3/4" buckle. Right is 1". The right is made by the same artists that made the ring I've worn every day for years.
left is vintage by an artist that has passed on but I really love the design.
I think left is extremely cool, but 3/4'' is pretty small
it's for a 3/4" belt, the buckle is 2-1/2" by 1-3/8"
so a "skinny" belt:
I have an OL western it should fit
High waist, skinny belt, interesting buckle would work great I feel
Having 2 pieces from the same artists would be very cool
Yeah, also on researching them, it's an old couple, I found out one of their pieces is in the national museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian. I know they likely have a billion pieces but still pretty sick. https://americanindian.si.edu/collections-search/object/NMAI_273979
Ok that's fucking sick