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TOMMY SINGER: b.1940-d.2014

Navajo artisan-Tommy Singer was best known as the innovator of what came to be called "Chip Inlay," a distinctive technique that rose to wide popularity in the early 1970s. Tommy came up with this technique when scraps and waste from the money he had spent on turquoise and coral were left scattered on the floor after cutting. Hating to see this still-good material swept up and dumped in the trash, he came up with a clever idea: to reuse the chips by mixing them with epoxy and carefully filling them into into his designs. This design has been copied and adopted by people around the world, but it is Tommy to whom we give full credit for the “Chip Inlay” creation.

Tommy was also in high demand for his cut-out overlay work (this belt is a great example!), as well as for his consistently excellent, all-around traditional Navajo workmanship. His work continues to be widely collected by buyers worldwide & is asked for by name. You can actually gather a wealth of information by googling his name.

THE CONCHO BELT:

This exceptional belt features seven identical, solid sterling silver oval conchos and a square matching buckle, all threaded through a 5/8” wide black leather belt. It beautifully showcases the cutout overlay technique—a method requiring two layers of sterling silver. The artist meticulously blackens the bottom sheet with a rich, oxidized finish, while the top layer features an intricate cutout design. Once soldered together, the dark background perfectly accentuates the overlay details. Tommy was a true master of this type of art.

SIZING:

There only 4 holes punched on the belt. So without punching any more holes and leaving as it is now, the belt can be worn from a 32-1/2" waist (The hole closest to the last concho) to a 33-3/4" waist.(The hole furthest away from the last concho-going toward the end of belt) But remember, the smaller the waist, the closer the conchos will sit together & the closer you get to the end by going all the way to the last hole, the further the conchos will sit from one to the other. When all the conchos are tightly sitting next to the other with hardly, if any, leather showing, this measures 22-1/2”.(From buckle tip to last concho) All measurements are from the “buckle tip” to the said measurements. (Not measured from the end of the buckle itself)

Not sure if the belt was original to the time that it was made by Tommy, so it does have some wear. If you want to change the belt out for a different color, different length, etc. there are “Boot/Shoe” repair businesses that can do this for you. If you change out the belt ,just make sure the leather is soft enough to weave in and out from one concho to the next & the belt has a 5/8” width. If you kept the belt, you can easily punch additional holes.

This is the perfect example of Tommy’s impeccable talent. He was ‘old school’ & continued to repeat the many techniques his ancestors once did, where everything & anything was made from scratch. Anything you get that was made by him, are now ‘Collector’s” pieces.

INFO/DETAILS:

ARTIST: Tommy Singer

TRIBE: Navajo

CIRCA MADE: 1960'S-Early 1970’s

GENDER: Unisex

METAL: Sterling (Tested 2 x’s)

FINISH: Natural patination.

WEIGHT: 7.9 OUNCES **224 GRAMS

CONCHOS: 7 plus 1 Buckle

EACH CONCHO MEASUREMENT: 2-7/8" wide x 2-1/8" Tall

BUCKLE: 2-1/2” Wide x 2” Tall

BELT: 5/8" Wide

BELT MATERIAL/COLOR: Leather/Black

1st BELT HOLE AT: 32.50" (Measured from the buckle tip) LAST HOLE: 33.75"

TOTAL BELT LENGTH: 37" (From the tip on buckle to the very end of the leather belt)

HALLMARK: TC(“C” is Crescent shape)

CONDITION: This is NOT new, has been very well kept & is in perfect wearable condition! There are no dents in the sterling. The leather belt shows wear & has softened from time.

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SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT:

Anything above a certain price tag, will have a mandatory signature confirmation requirement . (Reflected in shipping price) If you're not home in the day & need it shipped where it can be signed for, please change that in your "Ship To" section before I create the shipping label***I'm sorry if this may be an inconvenience, but I do not ship expensive pieces without one. This is for your safety & mine.

PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING:

To give you close up photos, pictures tend to make the item look GIGANTIC & everything is more magnified than in actuality. To get an accurate idea of how big this is, please either check it out being worn to get a rough idea (see photos) or you can pull out a tape measure & compare to my given measurements above