Authentic Stamp Orange Spiny Oyster Pendant
$250.00
The Richardson Stamp
Every piece in this line carries two marks. The first belongs to the silversmith. It is the hallmark they strike into their own work, and it names the person who sat at the bench. The second is ours, and it is trademarked. No one else can legally put it on anything.
We can strike it because we know what went into the piece before the piece existed. We bought the silver. We bought the stones. Then we handed them to the silversmith and got the jewelry back. Nothing entered that chain from outside it.
That is the part most sellers cannot say. A hallmark tells you who claims to have made something. It says nothing about where the metal came from, what the stone actually is, or whether anyone checked. The Richardson stamp answers all three.
We Don’t Issue Certificates
People ask. They have asked for years. There are thousands of one-of-a-kind pieces in this store. Printing a certificate for each one would be a filing project, not a guarantee.
Paper separates from jewelry. It gets lost in a move. It gets thrown out with the box. Anyone with a printer can reproduce it.
The mark is struck into the silver. It stays with the piece through every owner it will ever have.
Matthew Jack
Matthew Jack is Navajo. He started working silver at seven, sitting next to his father, Ray Jack. Collectors know him for the Night Sky pattern, a tight geometric inlay of turquoise and black jet he learned at that bench and has been cutting for over twenty years.
He oversees this line. He works alongside the silversmiths making it and decides what is finished and what goes back. The late Bill Richardson, who ran this store for decades, made his position on Matthew's work plain, “Whatever Matthew brings in, we buy.” That standard carries into everything produced under this mark. Each silversmith who works the line strikes their own hallmark beside ours. Both names are on the piece.
Where the Silver and the Stones Come From
We buy natural turquoise from American mines. Bisbee, Kingman, and Royston are the ones we trade in most, and when we know which mine a stone came out of, we say so. That has been our practice on the floor for 113 years.
On this line it is tighter than that. We sourced the rough ourselves before any of it reached a bench. The stone in a stamped piece passed through our hands before it passed through the silversmith's. So did the silver. That is what the mark means when we put it there.
Why the Source Matters
Federal law covers outright fraud. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 makes it illegal to sell something as Indian-made when it is not. An individual can be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to five years in prison. A business can be fined up to $1 million.
The gap is everything the law does not reach. "Native American style" is legal. "Southwest inspired" is legal. Both phrases sell a lot of jewelry that was stamped out in a factory and shipped in.
Nobody can tell you how large that problem is. The GAO looked at it in 2011 and found the extent of misrepresentation is unknown, because every figure in circulation traces back to a 1985 study built on expert guesses. There is no national database.
So a buyer cannot lean on a number. They lean on the seller.
Seven generations of this family have traded on the reservation and on this street. We built the stamp because a handshake and a century of reputation, while real, do not travel with the jewelry. The mark does.
You’re Buying It Where It’s Made
Gallup is the Indian Jewelry Capital of the World. The Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi silversmiths we work with live and work here. Their benches are not far from this building.
Most visitors pass through Gallup on the way to Santa Fe or Sedona. They buy there instead, and they pay far more. The piece is often made by one of the same artists who works here, hours from the gallery that sold it. We are the source, and we have been since 1913.
The Collection
Every piece here carries both marks. Each is one of a kind, made from materials we sourced before the work began. When a piece sells, it is gone.
Come Look at the Back of a Piece
The mark is small, and it is easier to understand with the silver in your hand.
We’re at 223 W Historic Hwy 66 in Gallup, on the same corner since 1913. The largest rug room in town is in the back. Call 505-722-4762 and ask about a piece, a smith, or a stone. Someone who knows the answer will pick up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Richardson stamp trademarked?
Yes. The mark is registered, and no other seller can legally use it.
Do stamped pieces come with a certificate of authenticity?
No, by choice. Both hallmarks are struck into the metal and cannot be separated from the piece.
Who makes the stamped jewelry?
Navajo silversmiths working under Matthew Jack, who has worked silver since he was seven. Each maker strikes their own hallmark beside ours.
How do you know the materials are genuine?
We bought the silver and the stones ourselves and supplied them to the smith. Every material is accounted for from raw stock to finished piece.
Where does the turquoise come from?
Natural American turquoise, most often from Bisbee, Kingman, and Royston mines.
Can I return a stamped piece?
Stamped pieces are eligible for exchange within three days of purchase. Call us at 505-722-4762 before sending anything back.