Charlie, Ric Sterling Silver Navajo Yei Belt Buckle

$5,200.00

This sterling silver belt buckle by renowned Navajo artist Ric Charlie showcases his masterful tufa casting technique, known for its rich texture and refined detail. Featuring a stylized Navajo Yei mask, the buckle incorporates lapis inlaid eyes and a domed turquoise mouth. On the back, Ric carved Monument Valley and oxidized the background in deep black using liver of sulfur.

Dimensions: 3″ 3/16th L  X 1″ 9/16th W

Belt Size: 1″ 9/16th

In Stock

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Artist:

Ric Charlie is the most innovative jeweler of our time, utilizing the ancient technique of Tufa Casting. Ric creates multi-level dimensional jewelry by meticulously cutting the designs with flawless precision. Each design is hand cast, formed, filed, sanded, and polished to perfection. Finally, diamonds and semi-precious gemstones are set to accent each piece for sale to the discriminating collector.

Ric Charlie is noted for his fine tufa cast work. His jewelry often has added colorful patinas in shades of gold, rust, red, purple, blue, and green, achieved by adding liver of sulfur to the silver. His pieces use Navajo landscape scenes, Yei Bi’Ci’s spiritual figures, and sand painting designs. The fine lines in his jewelry are accomplished by incising the tufa stone with the dental tools Ric has used for over 20 years. He uses a wide range of techniques, including mosaic, channel inlay, and set natural stones. Ric is also a painter and sculptor.

Born in Tuba City, Arizona in 1959, Ric is of Tsi’naa’jinii’ (Black-Streaked-Wood-People) and Ta’baahi’ (Edgewater) Clans. Growing up under humble circumstances with his grandparents in the sun streaked red cliffs, Ric learned the traditional ways while watching the old ones slowly adjust to new technology and world ideas. He began experimenting with jewelry making and learned the basic techniques while in high school. He attended Arizona State University in Tempe and the University of Arizona in Tucson with sports scholarships. There, he formally studied jewelry making and design.

However, in the area of tufa casting, Ric is largely a self-taught artist. The technique he uses was not part ofdio art curriculum. He apprenticed to other jewelers whose work he admired and set himself a goal of making his college stu the lines fine and clean.

Ric has been a practicing jeweler since the early 1970s. Today, in addition to pursuing and perfecting his own career, Ric teaches and advises young Native artists from around the world on his distinctive tufa stone casting methods.

During his lifetime, Ric has had a strong sense of being a part of Monument Valley and has felt like it was him home. So a lot of his work has the Monument Valley scenery. “Every time I feel down, I always think about my place in life, and I feel that I have something to give into this world…”

This exceptional sterling silver belt buckle is a one-of-a-kind creation by renowned Navajo (Diné) jeweler Ric Charlie, who is widely celebrated for his innovative use of tufa casting. This process, which involves pouring molten silver into hand-carved tufa stone molds, produces a distinct grainy surface texture—visible throughout this finely crafted piece.

The buckle’s central motif is a stylized Navajo Yei mask, a spiritual figure often associated with healing and ceremonial balance. Ric inlays the eyes with deep blue lapis and sets a single, domed turquoise stone as the mouth, imbuing the piece with symbolic meaning and vibrant contrast. The overall form is framed by sharply defined geometric patterns that reference traditional Navajo weaving motifs, such as the thundercloud design, and architectural elements found in ancient Pueblo structures. These angular lines and bold shapes create a powerful sense of symmetry, while the interplay between polished silver and rough-cast texture enhances visual complexity.

On the reverse, Ric has carved a detailed silhouette of Monument Valley, a sacred and iconic Navajo landscape. By using liver of sulfur, he oxidized the background to a deep black, creating a dramatic contrast that highlights the carved imagery. This unique color palette—yellow and black—has become a hallmark of Ric Charlie’s work, achieved through years of perfecting his patina techniques.

Signed “RC” on the reverse, this belt buckle is more than an accessory; it is an exquisitely executed piece of wearable art that reflects Ric Charlie’s mastery of form, technique, and cultural storytelling.

Tufa casting is an ancient and revered metalworking technique used predominantly by Navajo and other Southwestern Native American jewelers. The process involves carving a design into a soft, porous volcanic stone known as tufa, which is composed of compressed volcanic ash. Tufa stone is ideal for casting due to its ease of carving and ability to withstand high temperatures.

To begin, the artist cuts and sands two matching tufa stones, creating a mold by hand-carving the desired design into one half. A funnel-like channel is also carved to allow molten metal—usually sterling silver or gold—to be poured into the mold. The two stone halves are then bound together and pre-heated to remove moisture, which prevents cracking during casting. Once the molten metal is poured in and cooled, the mold is broken open, revealing a one-of-a-kind piece.

Tufa casting is prized for its texture—the stone imparts a natural, grainy surface to the metal, giving the finished jewelry a distinct organic look and feel. Many artists embrace this texture as a signature element of their work, often finishing the piece with additional hand stamping, polishing, or stone inlay.

This method allows for artistic freedom and individuality, as each mold is used only once, making every tufa cast piece truly unique. Tufa casting reflects a deep respect for tradition and craftsmanship, preserving a hands-on, ancestral approach to jewelry making that continues to inspire contemporary Native artists today.