02/03/2026
Native Navajo Etta and Randy Endito have been silversmithing together since 1980. Etta, from Crownpoint, and Randy, from Smith Lake, New Mexico met in 1978. They have been married for 36 years come August. They have three grown sons and one daughter in middle school. Etta say her greatest gift for 2013 is her granddaughter Sofiia, who is four months old now. She also has a grandson, Mikey, who is eight years old. She says, “I love them with all my heart, along with their mothers.” So far, all three sons show interest and talent in silversmithing following in the footsteps of their parents. The Endito family is a true team, loving and respectful of one another.
Etta and Randy both helped their mothers in their jewelry making after school. Both mothers were very good silversmiths. Etta has a piece of jewelry that her father made years ago, which she treasures. Etta and Randy have enormous of respect for their parents and are grateful for the lessons they learned.
Unfortunately, Randall passed away in 2020 with his personal touch to the silver he so well mastered went with him. Etta continues to silversmith. Her style is not Randall’s style. It a different kind of beauty.
Now this incredible bracelet he left for the world; his art from his hands and his imagination is for sale. There will be no more bracelets made by this master. The bill of sale reads the name of the cuff, “Randall Endito Water Web, Kingman Turquoise, Thunderbird cuff Bracelet.” I understand the Water Web. That is the Stone, the centerpiece of this bracelet. I don’t think it came out of the Kingman Mine, but rather Turquoise Mountain and the stone is called Old Man’s Turquouse. What a blue, and the matrix works to give the whole bracelet more movement. I love how he created a decorative bezel, wrapping the sterling “pearls” ( which is how Native Tribes refer to the build up of sterling around the stone. It’s there but well hidden under the waterfall of pearls which graduates in size with the larger pearls positioned at the top and bottom and the ones in between grow smaller. It’s lovely. I’ve never seen that done before.
There’s lots of stamping on the front and the sides. The symbols on one side of the stone are exactly the same as the placement on the other side. The symbols are not words but rather holy symbols like prayers for all living things.
And then there are the Thunderbirds. The Navajo people believe that Thunderbirds are sacred, supernatural beings who warn of forthcoming war with thunder and lightning.
You can ask me sometime about my relationship with Thunderbirds which happened at an early age.
So here’s what you’ve all been waiting for. Dimensions of the cuff are always measured on the inside. From one end of the cuff to the other, it measures 5 1/2” to 5 5/8. It’s actually between the two. I’ve tried it on and it works great getting it on and off my wrist. It’s a little hard to get the second end over my wrist. Sterling is pliable. The whole bracelet is so over made, there is absolutely no way to damage it if have to make a little more room to get it on.i can’t imagine a man being able to pull it over their wrists. So let’s just say it!s a woman’s watch. The bracelet is 1 1/4 “ and the Thunderbirds are 1“ long. The opening between the ends is 1”. You can make adjustments to the bracelet. It should be done gradually though. You will damage the bracelet for sure. The Turquoise Mountain stone is flawless and is a perfect 1” circle. His signature is simply a proper capital “E.” The weight is heavy for a bracelet. It weighs in at 2.72 grams. That’s a lot of silver!!
Navajobracelets
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Thank you for reading. Where I grew up in Pt. Pleasant, WV there was some para/ normal activities in 1966-67 or 67-68. If you’re interested about reading the book, the title is Mothman Prophecies. It was written by John Keel.
This bracelet is a keeper.
