In Gallup, New Mexico things are done a little differently than, well say Las Vegas where “Pawn Stars” is filmed. When our customers come into the shop it is never a question of, “what would you like to do, pawn it or sell it”. Here we are always pawning and keeping many very valuable pieces of Native American art secure in our oversized “safety deposit boxes”. Over 90% of our customers return for their pawn items.

Pawn Vault

Many places will hold pawn items for the minimum amount of time required by the State of New Mexico. However, we hold items for over a year, and many times much longer than that. Perry Null Trading Company is in the “pawn” business, not the “selling” business. That loyalty keeps our customers returning and recommending us to their circle of family and friends.

Perry looking at Pawn

Eventually, if the pawn item has not been paid for we put the item out for sale, as “dead” pawn. Often it is dead pawn jewelry that attracts many of the buying customers to our Trading Post. These are the items that the locals here in the Gallup, New Mexico area wear. The pictures show the dead pawn pricing process.

Dead Pawn being Priced

Navajo artists like Thomas Curtis Sr., Leonard Nez, Wayne Franklin, & Oscar Alexius have something else in common, the Rodeo. All of them have competed and won big events in the All-Indian Professional Cowboys Association. Big Buckles and Trophy Saddles are as common around here as the pick-up truck. Gallup, New Mexico would be considered a rodeo town and we are proud of it.

Gallup, New Mexico is also home to quite a few “safety box” businesses called Pawn Shops. Rodeo stars, ranchers, along with the casual horse rider always are looking for a safe place to keep their valuable saddles. It seems like saddles outnumber horses in this area 100 to 1. When we have tour groups in the Trading Post the visitors are always amazed by the number of saddles in storage.

If you are a saddle person you will enjoy making a trip to Gallup. We have had some great handmade saddles  by local artists, “world champion’ rodeo saddles, custom made saddles, and some very unique special saddles. Plus, if you need a saddle this is the place to find one, from home decorations, bronc saddle, barrel racing, or just your roping saddle we have them all.

Tobe Turpen Jr. changed the style of his trading business that his father started in the early 1900s. Instead of providing dry goods and being involved with the wool trade, Tobe decided to go a different direction. He wanted his trading company to promote the beautiful crafts being made by the surrounding Gallup area artists.

Gallup, New Mexico is perfectly located for tourist trade. Especially before the four lane freeways took everyone around town. Route 66 and the train brought many people through this town, the Indian Capital of the World, and many of them shopped for a handmade piece of art to take back to California or the East.

In the early days of Native American handmade art the dealer spent lots of time educating the public about this style of art. Tobe talks about how earlier buyers didn’t put a big value on the art. Much of his time was talking about the quality of turquoise, how the piece was made, and the amount of time it took to make these unique and special pieces. Today that has all changed. Artists like Raymond Yazzie charge tens of thousands of dollars for bracelets.

However, once again it seems like we are doing lots of price justification in the Trading Post. One of the reasons that Native American made pieces of jewelry has a value is because of the materials. The majority of the pieces are made using sterling silver and some type of a stone. Plus, what we all like to be paid for, labor.

Tobe made a business of handmade art selling at a time when material costs were relatively low. We have all seen a pre-1965 dollar US coin, about 1 troy ounce, those were made with 90% silver and cost the Government less than one dollar to make. Tobe also dealt in a time when you saw excellent American turquoise for pennies a carat. Those days are over and it isn’t just because of inflation.

Things have changed radically in the last decade. During this time we have seen silver go from a little more than $4 dollars a troy ounce to a skyrocketing $48. It is important to remember that when you buy sterling silver that has been turned into sheet, wires, or the many other types silversmiths work with they pay an additional cost. Some types of wire can run as much as $40 dollars over the market price. Also, the days of good inexpensive turquoise don’t exist either. It wasn’t that long ago (same last decade) you could walk into a supply house here in Gallup and buy a nice turquoise cab for around 25 cents a carat. Anything over 50 cents and you were really starting to buy something rare and collectible. Now it seems like everything is at least a dollar and if you want a nice piece of Arizona Kingman get ready to spend around $5 a carat.

A tighter materials market reduces the number of craftsmen in the trade, increases the base price of jewelry and typically demands a more savvy buyer. Unfortunately, the dramatic change in materials cost has in some cases tripled the prices of your favorite artists from merely a year ago. Look over our inventory, shop around, and know that Perry Null / Tobe Turpen Trading always creates from the finest materials, buys from the best names in the craft, and delivers a quality heirloom piece every time you shop.

Sterling silver sheet, sterling silver strips to build the channels, and rough turquoise used for the inlay.

Finished silver work before the inlay and buffing. This bracelet before stones already weighs over 4 ounces.

What it looks like once 140 pieces of turquoise have been inlaid and the silver has been shined.

All three of these pieces are handmade using fabricated sterling silver, this is not cast work. A bracelet like this takes time to make, something that you are not going to make in a day.

We have had this style of bracelet made over and over. Ten years ago we would have sold this bracelet for around $280, today this bracelet is $600. The things that have changed are material cost and labor cost. Many of our artists live a distance from town and are hit very hard with costs such as gas. Remember that this is a piece of handmade art, no shortcuts and no skimping on materials.