The Quandelacys are a Zuni family, and one of the best known names in Zuni art. This collection holds work by Amy and Dick Quandelacy.
Their pieces are the high end of this store. The inlay is done entirely by hand, and the stones are chosen at a grade most inlay work never sees, including Bisbee turquoise, a closed Arizona mine whose material is now bought and sold on reputation alone. Several pieces are set in solid 14K gold rather than silver, which is unusual for Zuni inlay and is part of why these are the most valuable single items we carry.
What separates work at this level is fit. In Zuni inlay every stone is cut to a bespoke shape and ground until it meets its neighbour with no gap and no filler, then the whole face is polished as one surface. Run a fingernail across a Quandelacy piece and you feel nothing. That is the whole craft, and it takes decades to reach.
The collection is mostly rings and earrings, several of them large statement pieces built around a single exceptional stone, plus square-set turquoise and deep red coral in gold. These are one-of-a-kind pieces and cannot be replaced once sold; where a piece is signed and stamped, its own listing says so.
If you are buying at this level we would rather you saw the piece first. Our Old Town Scottsdale showroom has been in business since 1979 and you are welcome to take your time with these under proper light. Browse more 14K gold jewelry or the rest of our artists.