Vintage 4-Piece Ranger Buckle Set with Horse Inlay by Lincoln and Helen Zunie

Heavy gauge sterling silver ranger set by Santa Fe artist Mona Van Riper. The 2” x 2 ¼” buckle has two 18 karat gold flowers with red garnets in the center. The two keepers and the tip also have an 18 karat gold floral motif with garnets. The set is made for a 1” belt. Price is for buckle set only. Belts are sold separately. Santa Fe artist Mona Van Riper is known for her unique one of a kind jewelry. She is a favorite of collectors because of her unique designs and she chooses only the highest quality stones. Day of the Dead figures and skulls are among her favorite designs. She has been designing jewelry since 1976. About the Artist Mona Van Riper was raised in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. She began silver-smithing at the Mabel Dodge Lujan House in Taos in 1976. Making and designing jewelry has been a constant part of her life ever since. Mona is most well-known for her elaborate and intricate buckles, whether with a western theme, crown, fleur-de-lis, heart or with her eponymous skulls. Most of the country’s finest buckle makers—often artisans who learned the skills from their fathers and grandfathers—ply their craft in remote locales, often in obscurity. Mona Van Riper fits that profile. She creates one-of-a-kind turquoise, 18-karat gold, and sterling silver buckles in a 10-by-10-foot utility room in her home located on a dirt road, miles outside of Santa Fe, N.M. Mona’s early jewelry was heavy stamped Southwestern style made from hand-cast ingots and coins. Over the years her style has developed into a more sophisticated and contemporary look while maintaining her signature old-world flavor. In 1992 Mona introduced engraving into her work which has given her jewelry a broader appeal. Mona’s unique jewelry is made from sterling silver in combination with 18 karat gold overlays and engraving. She often uses rare and very high-grade custom cut turquoise in her pieces. Mixing precious and semi-precious stones also gives her jewelry a timeless look. You will find notable differences in quality between artisan-made belt buckles and those that major luxury brands’ machines churn out by the thousands. Handmade solid silver and...

Hollow Form Sterling Silver Western Belt Buckle with Overlaid Petroglyph Designs and set with Natural Lone Mountain Turquoise from Nevada. This buc...

Sterling Silver Buckle with Hand-Stamped Designs and set with Natural Lone Mountain Turquoise. Made for a 1 ¼” belt. The Lone Mountain Turquoise Mine is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. This turquoise is known for its ability to hold color and not fade. Lone Mountain turquoise ranges in color from clear blue to intense blue spiderweb. The mine is also known as the Blue Jay Mine. Lone Mountain turquoise ranks higher than most other turquoise on the hardness scale, which may explain one of the unique qualities of these stones. About the Artist Fidel Bahe was born in 1949 at Keams Canyon, Arizona. He is the firstborn of eight children--two sisters and five brothers. He studied architecture and engineering at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff before taking up silversmithing at the age of 24. Fidel focused on traditional Navajo designs with his own creative style. In 1976, Preston Monongye...

Tufa cast sterling silver buckle by Navajo silversmith Fidel Bahe. The 3 1/2” x 2 1/2” contemporary buckle has a stylized male Yei head. Made for a 1 1/2” belt. Tufa casting is a technique of pouring molten silver into a tufa stone mold and letting it harden into a given form. The mold is only used once; therefore each item is an original piece. The Yei are the Navajo Holy People. About the Artist Fidel Bahe was born in 1949 at Keams Canyon, Arizona. He is the firstborn of eight children--two sisters and five brothers. He studied architecture and engineering at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff before taking up silversmithing at the age of 24. Fidel focused on traditional Navajo designs with his own creative style. In 1976, Preston Monongye...

Sterling Silver Southwestern Belt, made by L H Zunie- This is all handmade by the famed silversmith team Specializing in inlay, Lincoln and Helen Zuni stamped their work with H-L ZUN...

A striking example of a vintage Zuni inlaid and sterling silver ranger buckle set, circa 1970s. This is classic Zuni ranger set consists of turquoise, je...

An extraordinary example of a vintage Zuni inlaid and sterling silver ranger buckle set by lapidary masters Celestine and Elizabeth Cooche, circa 1970s. This is classic and highly ...

Vogt sterling buckle set on running oak tooled leather belt. Buckle features Indian head and two bow and arrow images with hand etched floral desig...