JEWELRY
Turquoise and silver are what many people think of when they think of Native American Indian jewelry from the Southwest. While that certainly is the classical look of the jewelry produced by our native people, you will also find a wide variety of other materials and designs used in our Native American Indian jewelry.
Because turquoise has always been very important to the Indian people of the American Southwest, it has been used extensively in their jewelry. However, the natives of the Southwest always had elaborate trade routes to bring them the shells and other materials that they wanted for personal ornamentation. Their trade area has now expanded beyond the American continent to include the entire world. Consequently, you will find stones from all over the world used in the jewelry made by the Navajo and Pueblo Indian artists of the Southwest.
The jewelry from each Indian tribe has a unique look. A brief description of the style most commonly used by the artists of each of the major, jewelry producing, Indian tribes in the Southwest follows:
Hopi overlay jewelry is created by sawing the design out of a sheet of sterling silver. The sheet containing the design is soldered to a second sheet of silver. The portion of the bottom piece that is exposed by the design is hand stamped then oxidized to achieve a textured and dark background. The top surface of the piece is either polished to a high shine or to a beautiful satin sheen. Occasionally the top surface has a sandcast finish.
The Navajos were the original Southwest Indian silversmiths. They are masters of hammering, bending and molding silver. Silver is the most important element in the majority of Navajo Indian jewelry. When stones are used, they are usually big and bold and chosen to compliment the silver design into which they will be set. The Navajo Indians are also highly skilled in inlay work. Their inlay is characterized by the abstractness of the design.
The jewelry from the Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo in New Mexico is more like that of the ancestral Puebloans than the work of any other Indian tribe. Their jewelry has changed little over the centuries. They are the artists who create the handmade heishi (the Santo Domingo word for beads) and the mosaic onlay - stones and shells set on a shell backing.
The Zuni Indians are lapidaries. Consequently, the stones are the important element in their jewelry. Silver is normally used only to hold and enhance the stone. The fit is so close in the Zuni inlay work that the individual stone and shell elements are separated by less than the thickness of a sheet of paper.
Whatever your personal taste in jewelry, there is a piece of wearable art done by a Native American, Indian artist from the Southwest that will delight you.
Great info from the Department of the Interior’s Indian Craft Shop site on how to put on a cuff bracelet http://www.indiancraftshop.com/bracelet-care-sizing.htm
Recommended Reading
American Indian Jewelry I, 1,200 Artist Biographies, Gregory Schaaf
Hallmarks of the Southwest, Barton Wright
Hopi Silver: The History and Hallmarks of Hopi Silversmithing (2003 edition), Margaret Wright
Navajo Jewelry, A Legacy in Silver & Stone, John Adler
Navajo Silver, Arthur Woodward
North American Indian Jewelry and Adornment: From Prehistory to the Present, Lois Sheer Dubin
Southwestern Indian Jewelry, Dexter Cirillo
Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest, Kari Chalker
Turquoise, The Gem of the Centuries, Oscar T. Branson
Who’s Who in Zuni Jewelry, Gordon Levy
Zuni: A Village of Silversmiths, James Ostler, Marian Rodee and Milford Nahohai
JEWELRY BY TYPE
Bolo (bola) Ties, Buckles, Cuff Links
In our selection of bolo (bola) ties, buckles and cuff links, you may find pieces by artists from the Navajo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique characteristics of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual pieces. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver.
Bracelets
In our selection of bracelets, you may find pieces by artists from the Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique characteristics of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual items. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver. The description of a bracelet will indicate when 14 carat gold has been used in the piece.
A cuff bracelet needs to be about one-half inch larger (inside measurement of the bracelet including the opening) than the spot on your arm where you want to wear the bracelet. The most common place to wear a bracelet is just below the wrist bone as they unusually fall to that spot when your arm is down. Many bracelets can be adjusted a little to fit your wrist. NO adjustment can be made to bracelets with inlaid stones.
If the measurement given for a bracelet is not just right for your wrist, ask us about the possibility of altering it. BRACELETS CAN NOT BE RETURNED IF THE SIZE OF THEM HAS BEEN ALTERED IN ANY WAY.
Great info from the Department of the Interior’s Indian Craft Shop site on how to put on a cuff bracelet http://www.indiancraftshop.com/bracelet-care-sizing.htm
Earrings
In our selection of earrings, you may find pieces by artists from the Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique ... characteristics of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual pieces. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver.
Miscellaneous Jewelry
In our selection of miscellaneous items, you may find pieces by artists from the Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique ... characteristics of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual pieces. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver.
Pins & Pendants
In our selection of pendants and pins, you may find pieces by artists from the Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique ... characteristics of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual pieces. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver.
Rings
In our selection of rings, you may find pieces by artists from the Hopi, Navajo, Santo Domingo and Zuni Indian tribes. Please refer to the commentary in the introductory page for jewelry for a description of the unique characteristics ... of the jewelry from each of these different Indian tribes.
The stones used are identified in the descriptions for the individual pieces. All silver used in these pieces is sterling (92.5%) silver.