Born in 1969, Darrel Cadman is the brother of well-known silversmith Andy Cadman and a half-brother of renowned smiths Gary and Sunshine Reeves. This group of relatively young smiths (35 to 40 years old) all learned much of their trade from David Reeves (Gary and Sunshine's full-brother who is now deceased). The Cadman brothers and the Reeves brothers, therefore, share a common element of apprenticeship and exhibit certain similarities in their work. Darrel has been smithing silver since 1992.

This uniform-width cuff is marked by deep, complex stampwork and richly endowed with a very fine rectangular stone of natural, untreated King's Manassa turquoise from Colorado. This stone is a combination of soft blue and green, marked by swirling matrix and a soft-domed cut with clearly defined edges. This stone is akin to the large oval King's Manassa bracelet shown in our Turquoise Primer (and retained in Chaco's personal collection). It is set in a straight-edged bezel wrapped with twist wire. This is particularly tight-grained stone with a highly lustrous polish. Soft S-curved repoussée appliquées flank the stone and starred buttons form vertical columns to left and right of the stone.

An example of Darrel's work is pictured on page 48 of American Indian Jewelry I: 1,200 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf (photo provided by Chacodog.com). Hallmarked "D. Cadman" with "Sterling" stamped inside.

Stone: 1 1/8" x 3/4"           Width of cuff: 1 5/16"

Terminal to terminal: 5 5/8"           Gap: 1 1/8"

Total inside circumference (including gap): 6 3/4"