Black concho belt and brown concho belt

I know these are fairly common. These were purchased in Albuquerque (where I live). My in-law was a dealer/trader in Old Town and purchased direct from the artists. Based on the kind of artists that came into the store, and distance to the reservation, I am guessing navajo. But I really don’t know. I believe these to be over 20 years old. She owned and wore them herself before giving them to me about 15 years ago. There is some tarnish. They are stamped “stirling”. Both pieces have artist stamps on the backs of the buckles. The brown belt has an arrowhead shaped outline and what looks to be either a “C” or “G” with a period followed by “MTZ” I think. It’s hard to really see clearly. Brown belt strap is about an inch wide, with 17 alternating pieces of two shapes not including the buckle, and the buckle is differently shaped then the rest of the pieces. The black belt is stamped with initials “KS”, and the strap is also an inch wide and there are 9 pieces all the same size including the buckle. I would just like to know how to go about getting an idea of value on these pieces, and where one might sell such things, either online or locally.


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oh…the size of the silver pieces. On the brown belt the ovals are about 1.75 inches by 1.5 inches, the “bowties” are 1.75 long. The buckle is about 2.25 inches by 1.75 inches. The silver pieces on the black belt are about 2.75 inches by 2.5 inches (these are rounded to nearest decimal…hard to measure accurately as they are not flat). Both buckles have a leather fastener at the buckle end of the belt to hold the buckle in place.

Ok…so I have now figured out these are Kirk Smith and Calvin Martinez, and are both navajo. So this site has already been helpful in helping me find the makers. Now, how to go about figuring out age and value?

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Both are in late 40s early 50s, and Calvin continues to make this same style, Kirk doesn’t as much. We have this up for sale to give you an idea, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pawn-Collection-Calvin-Martinez-Concho-Belt-Beautiful-/370554940356?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5646cbabc4