Posted on the Comstock Heritage website forum by the famous western novelist Johnny Boggs.
“The company began in San Francisco in 1886 when J.C. Irvine partnered with a man named Jachens (his first name has been lost to history) and began making brass and silver conchos (and later badges) at the J.C. Irvine Company (later Irvine & Jachens) on Mission Street. In the 1920s, Christian Stegman bought the company, doing silverwork for saddles for Keyston Brothers and others until parade saddles fell out of vogue in the late 1950s. By 1971, Christian Stegman’s sons had divided the business, with Howard Stegman pushing silver buckles instead of badges and moving his company, rechristened Comstock Silversmiths, to Carson City. Irvine & Jachens, by the way, still makes badges outside of San Francisco. In the ’70s, James Stegman’s dad was doing literally hundreds of buckles a month, inexpensive rodeo buckles, good buckles, handmade 20-40-60-dollar wholesale buckles.
“In 1990 James Stegman moved his family back to Carson City and worked for his father, and soon began pushing his father to try more expensive looks, using gemstones and better materials.
“Three years later, he got the go-ahead and Comstock Heritage was relaunched. “Basically what we did was take this rather iconic business and turn it into what we could understand,” Stegman says, “which is quality.” That quality has put Comstock Heritage jewelry in such high-end markets as Maida’s Belts and Buckles in Houston, Cry Baby Ranch in Denver, JW Cooper in New York, Augustina’s Leather in Carmel, Calif., and Bailey Stockman in Tokyo.”
James and his wife Donna live in Carson City, Nevada. Great talented people to work with.
I’m a Comstock Heritage buckle dealer, as well as a friend, and have some of their buckles at my Beal’s Cowboy Buckle Store.