Lots of Loloma stuff

I was once asked what we look for in Charles Loloma pieces--what makes one "better" than another. I sat down and wrote out what we look for, and what influences the pricing.

1. Gold or silver? Gold will command a higher price than silver, unless there is something extremely special about the silver piece.

2. 18K or 14K? This does not make as much of a difference as it should, honestly. 18K pieces should be quite a bit more expensive than 14K pieces, but generally they are not—only a bit more expensive.

3. Quality of materials—mainly refers to the quality of the turquoise in the piece. Pieces with Lone Mountain, Bisbee, #8 or Lander will command a premium. And pieces with fossil ivory can be a problem to sell in certain states, so that can depress the price somewhat.

4. Date, and who made it. Earlier pieces are usually tastier to savvy collectors than later ones, because of the likelihood that Charles did the work himself. “Sonwai” Lolomas are still highly collectible, but all things being equal, more collectors will go for the earlier pieces.

5. Artistry. Here is where the subjectiveness comes in, and makes things interesting. Some pieces are just better than others.

6. Rarity—early pieces tend to be more uncommon than later ones. That is also a factor, though not as much a factor as other ones, like artistry and materials.

7. How it fits into Loloma’s art. Again, very subjective. But Loloma was known for certain things, like the “landscape” style of setting stones in bracelets, and the “inner beauty” inside inlay pieces. Things that show Loloma at his most creative will command a premium. I’m not doing a great job of explaining it, but as you go through the Loloma book, some pieces will just hit you right, and you will say “Yes, that is who he was.” That’s a big x-factor, and it shows up in pricing. That’s why his kachina face bracelets tend to be the most expensive of all (at the height of the market, they were selling for around $100,000).

8. Provenance and genuineness. This did not used to be a problem, but after 2006, when a lot of fake "Lolomas" started hitting the market, any piece with provenance back to before that time will command a premium.