From ‘The History of Bell Trading Company’:
Bell Trading Company was established by Jack Michelson and his wife Mildred in 1932 in the growing city of Albuquerque. Mildred’s maiden name was Bell. They were located along the new highway known as Route 66. Michelson hoped this spot would be where tourists could find locally made Native American jewelry.
In the initial years, the trading post marked its jewelry with the image of a bell.
With the death of Jack in 1957, Bell Trading Post passed to his children and they expanded the product line and changed the name to Sunbell. Sunbell remained in business until the late 1980s.’
Going by the above dates, this Bolo Tie should be dated between 1932 to 1957, My guess is that it’s from the 1950s.
The centerpiece of this bolo is oval in shape. It measures 1.75 by almost 1.50 inches. The stone is extremely turquoise in color. At the estate sale where I purchased it I was told the stone is polished turquoise. I have to take their word for it because I don’t have a gem tested, so I’m not sure if it’s a genuine gemstone or man made.
The back of the centerpiece states “Sterling” and has a bell. The Bell name is there but is fading due to age. The “B” is there and the last “L’ is there, but the letters E and L are faded.
The cord is braided leather and is black in color. Laid out, from end to end the cord measures 36 inches long. The cord has metal end caps that are also silver in color.
I purchased it at an estate sale along with about a dozen other bolos that I will be listing. The info card on the table said the bolos are estimated to be from the 1950s to the 1970s and were worn very little, if at all. This listing is for the one bolo you see in my photo.
Buyer to pay USPS First Class Mail parcel delivery charges of $8.95. Shipping is from Arizona. The package will be fully insured and will require a signature at the time of delivery.
SPECIAL NOTE about SHIPPING CHARGES: Twice yearly and again in November for the holiday season (so 3 times each year) the postal service increases shipping charges. This is what they call their “Delivering for America” plan in which they hope to become profitable. It’s a 10 year plan that started in 2021, so we’ve got years to go with multiple price increases each year. I try to absorb some of the new charges and haven't increased my shipping charges in three years. This year, unfortunately, I have to increase the shipping. I'll try to keep it reasonable and even absorb some of the changes when possible
I do combine shipping on multiple items purchased as long as all items can fit safely into a single box or envelope. However, my web host is not set up to calculate multiple item shipping costs. At checkout, you will be charged full shipping price on each item purchased and I will refund the appropriate amount of overpayment. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can send me an email with your zip code and stating which items you'll be purchasing and I'll calculate the correct combined shipping charges and send you a custom invoice.
INTERNATIONAL PURCHASES: Sorry, I do not ship to locations outside of the United States.
All items in my listings come from either estate or garage sales. I do not know if they came from homes where smoking or pets were present. All items are sold in the same condition as when I received them.
