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 thick, perfectly shaped oval of swirling blue Turquoise Mountain turquoise stands at the heart of this piece. This is creamy stone with beautifully defined edges, a flat table and a nice polish due to its very tight grain. the stone is set in a 3/16" straight-edged bezel wrapped by twist wire. The cuff is almost entirely overlaid with repoussée butterfly appliquées reminiscent of a Navajo concha belt. Heavy, domed starred buttons seem to tack these appliquées to the cuff, while scrollowrk suggest butterfly antennae. The overlaid appliquées on the cuff give this piece additional weight making it even more splendid.

Note on sizing: This cuff could possibly be adjusted to allow for a 1 1/2" gap, but the wrist to fit this will surely require at least the 1 1/4" gap this presently has. 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"           Uniform width of cuff: 1"

Terminal to terminal: 6 1/8"           Gap: 1 1/4"

Total inside circumference (including gap): 7 3/8"