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 Darrel began experimenting with new designs based heavily on the use of appliquées and other textured decorative elements affixed to the cuff to lend rich relief and shadowed depth to his cuffs. We watched his creative process advance and bought the first group of bracelets which we felt accurately reflected what he was seeking in his designs. Though overlaid with numerous appliquées, these cuffs are all fully stamped across the whole surface, even where Darrel knew that he would cover the cuff with appliquées. This is how a Navajo bracelet should be made. We loved this first group of his bracelets and can promise that you will see more of these.

A gorgeous blue free-form stone of natural Pilot Mountain turquoise with mahogany-colored matrix anchors this special piece. Darrel marked the four intermediate directions around the stone with "bumped up" starred Sunface buttons. An assemblage of appliquées, including a butterfly (wings), a fanned scallop (tail) and a diamond (head) form peyote birds flanking the stone. Heavy blossom stamped raindrops form the body of this symbol of the Native American Church. Past the appliquées, precise bands of stampwork decorate the cuff to the terminals. This is a superbly solid and impressive piece.

Note on sizing: This cuff could possibly be adjusted to allow for a 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" gap, but the wrist to fit this will surely require at least a 1 1/4" gap. Adjustment outside of this size range would be an attempt to make a bracelet fit a wrist size for which it was not made.

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 3/8" x 1 1/16"           Uniform width of cuff: 1 1/4"

Terminal to terminal: 6 3/8"           Gap: 1 3/8"

Total inside circumference (including gap): 7 3/4"