I’m stretching here because this piece is not turquoise and I have reservations about it being Native American. It used to belong to an old friend of mine and after many years her daughter finally traded it for something of mine that she wanted. The daughter has always called it the Tiki Man. It reminds me of the carvings that you see in Mexico and Central America. I have not tested the stone but it looks like it might be tourmaline. The only marks are the 0900 stamped on the back. Does anyone have any ideas? I’d love to know where he’s from. Thanks for the help.
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I see similar styles to this that came out of Peru and Venezuela in the 70’s and 80’s. If it was Cuzco it would be stamped as such. While your tiki man is not the normal mayan style the way the gem is mounted and the edge rippling are dead ringers for this area. Don’t be surprised if you find that your Tourmaline is actually Emerald. This is a common setting for both of these areas to use with Emerald shards from the mining. When the use explosives in the mines to expose the emerald deposits it litters the surrounding area with these little shards. Under magnification you should see that it is a crystalline column shape. Here is an example from my shop.
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Thanks Christobo , I appreciate the info. I was sort of leaning toward Peru but wasn’t sure. It’s cool that it is probably emerald and that certainly makes more sense than tourmaline. I got interrupted this morning and didn’t get to finish my post. Think “tiki man” may be living at my house for a while. He makes me happy. Thanks again for your help.
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I definitely agree with Christibo. I wanted to suggest this, I just didn’t have any evidence to back it up (I’ve just handled a lot of jewelry in my time). I knew right away that stone was an emerald. The color is not very good, but that is an indicator that it’s not color treated. But it’s a very clear emerald, which is very difficult to obtain. The 900 mark is the silver content. Very cool piece.
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Thanks Bigbree43. I have had my eye on that little fellow for years but they would never sell him. Then my friend and I had a “jewelry swap” and she wanted something of mine bad enough to trade him.
Also, you made a good point. The stone looks quite clean for an emerald which is why I never questioned Ginger calling it tourmaline. Time for a gem tester in this house. I appreciate your information. Thanks for joining in.
Hi Island momma,
This is from colombia its an emerald and its some tribal deity in the middle, i hope that helps
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