Slip into the Turquoise
Posted on July 20, 2008 by Stuart Kerty
Ric Charlie is an accomplished Navajo artist and jewelry designer of the Tsi’naajÃnii (Black-Streaked-Wood People) and Tábaahá (Edgewater) clans of Arizona.  Ric’s mastery as a silversmith adds a level of jewelry-like quality to his belt buckles and he has taken the craft of Tufa stone casting to a whole new level.
Tufa is compressed rock made of porous volcanic ash used to make high quality cast jewelry. The Tufa stone is sliced in half and the intricate design is carved into one side and the two halves are then joined back together and molten sterling silver is pored through the sprue hole into the casting cavity. This technique enables very detailed designs and imparts a unique texture from the coarse rock.Â
Sedona Indian Jewelry offers some beautiful examples of Ric’s work that exemplify what a master can produce from this technique.  High quality Royston Turquoise, Blue Diamond Turquoise, and Lapis stones are inlaid in polished silver framing that makes them stand out from the color and texture of the traditional Navajo geometric shapes beneath them. Â
And a rarity in belt buckles, Ric has cast a design on the reverse depicting the sun, clouds, and buttes of the Arizona desert. While only a very few people will ever know what is on the back of your belt buckle, this extra measure of detail demonstrates the true artistry of this Ric Charlie’s work.
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