JSW577 Ingot Silver Cuff
Ingot silver cuff by Arizona silversmiths Joe O'Neill/ Bubba Shackelford. The 3/4” cuff has an applique Peyote Bird on each side of a 1/2” x 7/8” turquoise cabochon. The heavy gauge silver cuff is 5 1/2” with a 1” gap. Hallmark: FTC (Falcon Trading Co.)
This old style cuff was created the old school way: made by hand and made of ingot sterling silver poured into tufa stone.
Tufa is known to give the metal texture, but with this cuff, the Tufa texture was then pounded out by hand forging the metal through pounding and working the metal into shape. Later it is filed and stamped.
About the artist
Bubba Shackelford
FALCON TRADING & BUBBA SHACKELFORD
Falcon Trading Company was started in the early 1980s by Cowboy Bubba Shackelford in Prescott Arizona. Bubba got his earliest start from Jock & Al Favour who are a part of a group of Anglo artists (Jesse Robbins for one & who actually got his start working with Bubba at Falcon), Charlie Favour, Joe Eby, Dennis Hogan, etc.)
Bubba began by selling his jewelry out of his Ford Falcon automobile all over town, giving Falcon Trading Company its namesake. Bubba produced FTC jewelry for many years afterwards, until his sight began to fade from diabetes. In 2014 Bubba took on a young student at that time named Joe O'Neill, who is now the head silversmith at Falcon Trading, and works with Bubba daily to continue on the tradition of creating beautiful tufa cast ingot jewelry in the southwestern/Santa Fe style. Bubba demanded that the jewelry be made right & everything has Bubba's approval!
