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.

In March 2007 we bought one bracelet in this style by Darrel. He had made only one; but a perfect one set with an oval of webbed Pilot Mountain turquoise. Before this design disappeared in time, it was essential to get him to make a batch of them in various sizes with a group of premium handpicked stones. The original example of this bracelet was made with 14 gauge Sterling. We asked Darrel if he could make this group with the heavier 12 gauge Sterling for additional heft to the cuff. He felt that he wouldn't be able to make the "bump out's" with such heavy Sterling, so we told him the lighter 14 gauge silver would be fine. We were overjoyed when he finished these and surprised us by making them with the heavier 12 gauge Sterling. He said he was afraid the 12 gauge would break his stamp set, so he heated the silver a little bit. Once those molecules start moving, the silver becomes friendlier to the deep bite of the stamp. These are even better than we were hoping for because of the heavier weight. The execution is flawless and each of the stones is a true natural gem.

This cuff is slim, but not too slim; proportionally perfect in relation to the stone. The texture of the cuff is superb with repoussée starred buttons highlighting its edges and overlaid scallop stamps forming the centerline of the cuff all the way to the terminals. This thick oval of natural Pilot Mountain turquoise from Nevada is set in a straight-edged bezel wrapped with twist wire and highlighted to left and right by simple scrollwork, raindrops and appliquées. This is an elegant example of textured stampwork with a gorgeous 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). Darrel's usual hallmark consists of a ram's head and "D. Cadman" with "Sterling" stamped inside. Sometimes he does not stamp the ram's head , only "D. Cadman" like in this piece.

Stone: 1 1/8" x 9/16"           Width of cuff: 13/16"

Terminal to terminal: 5 3/4"           Gap: 1 1/8"

Total inside circumference (including gap): 6 7/8"