Tyler Brown · Mine #8 Turquoise · Sterling Silver · 84g
There’s Tyler Brown, and then there’s Tyler Brown with a pile of ridiculous turquoise and apparently nobody around to tell him when to stop.
This is the latter.
Eight individual Mine #8 turquoise stones build this enormous 84-gram sterling silver naja, each one completely different from the next. Bright blue turquoise breaks through huge fields of chocolate and caramel matrix—almost like eight little landscapes collected and assembled into one piece.
And because Brown finished it with a Shepherd’s hook, Eight Roads can move between Navajo pearls, turquoise, coral or beads instead of being permanently committed to one necklace.
WHY THIS PIECE MATTERS
This isn’t simply a naja decorated with turquoise. The turquoise creates the architecture of the naja.
Brown uses eight differently shaped cabochons—triangles, teardrops, rectangles and elongated forms—to construct the familiar crescent silhouette. The heavy silverwork connects everything, but the stones remain the dominant visual language.
At 84 grams, it’s also a genuinely substantial example of Brown’s work. The scale, stone selection and unusual construction push it well beyond an everyday pendant and into statement-piece territory.
ARTIFACT REGISTRY
Artifact: Eight Roads
Maker: Tyler Brown
Origin: Diné (Navajo)
Materials: Sterling silver, Mine #8 turquoise
Stone Count: 8 cabochons
Form: Naja pendant
Attachment: Removable Shepherd’s hook
Weight: 84 grams
Hallmarks: TB / Sterling
Collector’s Gallery Value: $4,500
CURATOR’S FIELD OBSERVATION
The magic is actually in the mismatch.
Brown could have selected eight nearly identical Mine #8 stones. Instead, one is almost entirely turquoise while another is dominated by brown host rock; some are webbed, others dramatically blocked with matrix.
Yet when they’re assembled together, the matrix travels around the crescent and visually connects them.
It feels less like eight stones mounted on a naja and more like a naja assembled out of Mine #8.
ERIC’S NOTES FROM THE FIELD
This is why I still hunt jewelry.
Every once in a while you find something where the artist clearly had absolutely no interest in behaving reasonably.
Eight killer Mine #8 stones. 84 grams of silver. Giant naja. Shepherd’s hook.
Completely unnecessary. Exactly correct.
Mine 8 Turquoise
Tyler Brown · Mine #8 Turquoise · Sterling Silver · 84g
There’s Tyler Brown, and then there’s Tyler Brown with a pile of ridiculous turquoise and apparently nobody around to tell him when to stop.
This is the latter.
Eight individual Mine #8 turquoise stones build this enormous 84-gram sterling silver naja, each one completely different from the next. Bright blue turquoise breaks through huge fields of chocolate and caramel matrix—almost like eight little landscapes collected and assembled into one piece.
And because Brown finished it with a Shepherd’s hook, Eight Roads can move between Navajo pearls, turquoise, coral or beads instead of being permanently committed to one necklace.
WHY THIS PIECE MATTERS
This isn’t simply a naja decorated with turquoise. The turquoise creates the architecture of the naja.
Brown uses eight differently shaped cabochons—triangles, teardrops, rectangles and elongated forms—to construct the familiar crescent silhouette. The heavy silverwork connects everything, but the stones remain the dominant visual language.
At 84 grams, it’s also a genuinely substantial example of Brown’s work. The scale, stone selection and unusual construction push it well beyond an everyday pendant and into statement-piece territory.
ARTIFACT REGISTRY
Artifact: Eight Roads
Maker: Tyler Brown
Origin: Diné (Navajo)
Materials: Sterling silver, Mine #8 turquoise
Stone Count: 8 cabochons
Form: Naja pendant
Attachment: Removable Shepherd’s hook
Weight: 84 grams
Hallmarks: TB / Sterling
Collector’s Gallery Value: $4,500
CURATOR’S FIELD OBSERVATION
The magic is actually in the mismatch.
Brown could have selected eight nearly identical Mine #8 stones. Instead, one is almost entirely turquoise while another is dominated by brown host rock; some are webbed, others dramatically blocked with matrix.
Yet when they’re assembled together, the matrix travels around the crescent and visually connects them.
It feels less like eight stones mounted on a naja and more like a naja assembled out of Mine #8.
ERIC’S NOTES FROM THE FIELD
This is why I still hunt jewelry.
Every once in a while you find something where the artist clearly had absolutely no interest in behaving reasonably.
Eight killer Mine #8 stones. 84 grams of silver. Giant naja. Shepherd’s hook.
Completely unnecessary. Exactly correct.
Mine 8 Turquoise