(click for larger image)When I first met Donovan Skeets he was carrying a small basket of two dozen unfinished silver bracelets. They were bezel empty and as black as night still waiting to be set with quality stone and shined up to mirror brillance. Donovan got his start in the jewelry work room at Desert Indian Traders here in Gallup. As a very young man his entry job was as a silver buffer. He watched between buffing sessions and then he began practicing product construction with small silver pieces. He carefully observed and learned the techniques of the silver men like Gilbert Tom and Augustine Largo who shared the studio. Today he considers himself an old style specialist. The jewelry artists whose work he most admires include the late Harry Morgan and Harry's son Greg Pat. The folks at the shop told me that Donovan, now a mature silversmith, still likes to buff. The necklace/earring set above is set with Turquoise mountain turquoise from the Kingman mine area of Arizona. Price $399.
