Orville Tsinnie (1943-2017) was a wonderful Navajo man who was born in Tuba City, Az & spent his remaining years in Shiprock, NM where he passed away way much too early on May 23, 2017. There's a reason why this gentle giant is missed so much.. His personality never seemed to know a stranger & never would make you feel as one.I think not only myself, but many others I believe would say, that they would always look forward to his welcoming smile at our yearly "Santa Fe Indian Market",where he showed jewelry done in both sterling & gold.. Orville would bring with him all his amazing jewelry he would make for this event that had his signature style that when you look at it, you always knew whose it was.

Orville wasn't 'just a jeweler', but an accomplished award winning one, where he won numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement award from the Indian Arts and Crafts Association, an honor award that is only given to the finest American Indian artists. What he was gifted with, was knowing both the technical part of jewelry & the artistic side, by giving each piece the perfectly balanced form, the precision that each are made & his fine 'attention to detail' that made it all work.. If Orville was alive today,I wonder if he only knew how much he's missed..

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THE BOLO:

This was designed in a way that only Orville knew how to do & that was by using only premium turquoise, set in heavy gauge sterling & by always having an undeniable traditional Navajo edge..This bolo has all these key ingredients & are what helped to put him at the top in the industry, making him one of the most sought after..

Very masculine in size & weight,this is made for the 'manly man' who loves an exceptional bolo tie, while being able to flaunt your love for the finest Navajo/Native American jewelry there is! The large sterling portion is made in a large trapezoid shape & is extremely weighty! (This part alone weighs 6 OUNCES!) It's made with a oxidized bottom sheet of sterling that acts as the surface for his beautiful sawed out work to lay upon, for all the beads of sterling & for all the huge chunky cuts of Kingman turquoise to sit atop of. The size of the stones were the perfect choice for a bolo this big & come from the Kingman mine,so there is the perfect balance of stone & metal...They are all in their natural nugget state & have a nice luster wherever there is height to the stone.

If you zoom in on photo 12,you'll see how he did an 'old school' method of holding the leather strap, while leaving enough of an opening to allow it to be adjusted. The comfort strap is a braided black leather with a 7 mm round diameter.. The tips measure at 2-1/2" total, while the beads at the ends of the tips are a 16 mm round bead.

Personally,this is an extremely handsome Bolo & if I saw a man walking through my store or on the street for that matter wearing a bolo of this caliber, would tell me one thing & that is, he has refined tastes for only the best & of course he more than likely knows his jewelry & turquoise! I would be impressed, put it as simple as that!

A NOTE:
Once Orville's remaining pieces go into collector's hands & get sold, there will be less & less out there & there will be no more.His work will always hold their value & will never 'depreciate'..