Native American Jewelry Guide

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History of Southwestern Jewelry

Jewelry has been created and worn in the Southwest since prehistoric times. For hundreds of years, Native Southwestern people have crafted mosaic inlay and beads from turquoise, shell, bone, and stone. Chaco Canyon and other Ancestral Pueblo sites (formerly referred to as Anasazi)—the ancestors of today's Pueblo tribes of New Mexico—were central to major turquoise trade routes that stretched from the Pacific Northwest to Central America. Shells like abalone and spiny oyster were imported to the region from the coast and were an essential element in Ancestral Puebloan jewelry.

Native Americans of the Southwest were introduced to metalwork by the Spanish. Although they acquired metal ornaments through trade for years, it wasn't until the mid-19th century that Diné (Navajo) and Zuni artisans learned metalworking from Mexican blacksmiths and silversmiths. Their early silver creations were simple, decorated with designs that were engraved, stamped, filed, chiseled, or punched using handmade tools. Turquoise was first set in silver around 1880. By the turn of the century, silversmithing was widespread across the Southwest, and Native artists were making more sophisticated pieces like concho belts, ketohs (men’s bow guards), manta pins, najas, and squash blossom necklaces.

The Diné and Zuni styles began to diverge in the early 20th century. The Diné became known for their emphasis on silver-heavy designs with only a few large gemstones, while the Zuni focused on stonework, featuring finely cut clusters of gems in complex patterns. The Hopi and Pueblo tribes also developed their own distinctive jewelry styles during this time. Today, silver jewelry is an iconic image of the Southwest. Native American artists continue to handcraft silver jewelry in the traditional styles of their Pueblo or tribe, but the last 50 years have also seen an exciting period of innovation, with artists drawing upon influences from other tribes and cultures around the world. Jewelry-making continues to play a central role in contemporary Southwestern life, and Native American shell, gemstone, and silver jewelry is prized and collected globally.

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Styles & Techniques

Channel Inlay

Channel inlay is a distinctive technique closely associated with Native American jewelers of the Southwest, particularly those of Zuni Pueblo. Artists set precisely cut gemstones into pre-formed silver channels, allowing for colorful combinations of gems in complex and creative patterns. Channel inlay requires masterful silversmithing and lapidary skills and is used to create magnificent jewelry pieces recognized worldwide for their craftsmanship and artistic beauty.

Zuni Cluster Work, Petit Point, & Needle Point

Cluster work is a jewelry style unique to the Zuni people. While early Zuni jewelry resembled Navajo silverwork, Zuni artisans developed a signature style in the 1920s and 1930s that involved setting large groups of hand-cut gemstones into extremely intricate settings. These finely cut gems are often arranged in beautiful patterns resembling flowers, snowflakes, or wagon wheels. Though cluster work is most closely associated with turquoise, jet, and coral, any gemstone may be used.

Petit point and needlepoint are two types of Zuni cluster work distinguished by the shape and size of the gemstones. Petit point refers to gems cut into round, oval, rectangle, pear, or square shapes, while needlepoint refers to gems that have been cut into a thin sliver or needle shape.

Cluster work is an extremely time-consuming process, and fewer artists are taking the time to hand-cut their gemstones. A true piece of Zuni cluster jewelry is an exquisite work of wearable art that showcases the unmatched lapidary skills of Zuni artists and is an heirloom for generations.

Shell Mosaic Inlay

Shell mosaic inlay jewelry is a signature style of Santo Domingo jewelers. Artists create it by attaching tiny gemstone tiles to a shell base, forming colorful and unique patterns. The technique can be traced back to early forms of jewelry unearthed at Ancestral Pueblo sites throughout the Southwest, and many artists model their inlay designs after these ancient artifacts. Angie Reano Owen is credited with reviving the tradition of inlaid jewelry in Santo Domingo Pueblo in the 1970s, and today, Santo Domingo mosaic inlay is one of the jewelry styles most sought after by collectors of Native American art.

Sandcasting

Sandcasting is a generations-old jewelry method used by Diné and other Native American silversmiths. In this casting process, a design is hand-carved into sandstone, creating a negative space where molten silver or gold is poured. After casting, the piece is refined and decorated by hand. A single sand cast can take three or four days to carve and usually lasts for only a handful of castings. This fragile process is practiced by only the most skilled artists. Sandcast jewelry is often bold and substantial in silver weight, favored by Navajo silversmiths for both traditional and contemporary work.

Tufa Casting

Tufa casting is another generations-old jewelry-making method developed by Diné silversmiths. Tufa is a porous volcanic stone found in New Mexico and Arizona that is easy to cut and carve. In the casting process, a design is hand-carved into the tufa stone, creating a negative space for the molten silver or gold. After casting, the piece is refined and decorated by hand. Tufa molds typically last for only one or two castings, making this a fragile process practiced only by the most skilled artists. Jewelry created through this process is easily identified by the distinctive texture left on the metal by the tufa stone.

Hopi Overlay

In the decades just before and after World War II, Hopi silversmiths developed their own sophisticated technique called overlay, which involves soldering together two pieces of metal. The artist begins by tracing and then hand-sawing a design onto a sheet of silver—a difficult process requiring a high level of skill. The top piece is soldered to a bottom layer of silver, and the bottom layer is oxidized to create a beautiful contrast with the highly polished top layer. Designs often incorporate traditional symbols, including sun, water, cornstalks, bear claws, and the kokopelli. The overlay technique creates highly dimensional and detailed jewelry that demonstrates the remarkable craftsmanship of Hopi silversmiths.

Appliqué

Appliqué is a traditional Native American jewelry style in which a design cut out of silver is soldered to a silver base. It was one of the first distinctly Hopi styles to develop in the decades before World War II and was a precursor to the overlay style that is considered the Hopi’s signature type of silverwork. Both appliqué and overlay techniques create highly dimensional and detailed jewelry that represents the remarkable craftsmanship of Native American silversmiths.

Hand-Rolled Silver Beads & Navajo Pearls

Creating hand-rolled silver beads, sometimes called "Navajo Pearls," is a celebrated tradition among Diné silversmiths and an icon of Navajo jewelry. The artist begins with two flat discs of silver, then shapes them into domes using a dapping punch. The halves are soldered together and filed to form a beautiful silver bead. Usually formed from heavy-gauge sterling silver, the beads may be smooth, stamped, fluted, slightly flattened, or round and polished. Making hand-rolled beads is an extremely labor-intensive process, but it creates one of the most beautiful and recognized necklace styles in the world.

Fetish Necklaces

Fetishes are small carvings that depict animals or other important Native icons, and Zuni and Pueblo artists have been making them for hundreds of years. In the 1930s, Zuni artists began making smaller versions of their fetishes to accent beaded necklaces. The necklaces became extremely popular and developed into their own art form. Today, fetish necklaces are also made by Navajo and Pueblo artists.

Heishi & Beaded Jewelry

Native Americans in the Southwest have been wearing beaded jewelry for centuries. The beaded tradition is most closely associated with Santo Domingo Pueblo, known for creating beautiful shell and gemstone beads by hand. These beads are called "heishi," which means "shell" in the Santo Domingo language Keres. Necklaces with similar bead styles have been found in the ancient Ancestral Pueblo sites of Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, and heishi may be the oldest form of jewelry in New Mexico.

Traditionally, heishi beads are smooth, flat discs, but today the term refers to any small beads that are strung together. Making heishi beads by hand is an extremely labor-intensive process, and it can take up to two weeks to make a single strand. The shell or gemstone is first sliced into strips, then clipped by hand into small squares. These unfinished beads are drilled and strung on a fine wire. Next, the artist turns the string of beads against a stone wheel to make them round, further shaping and smoothing them with sandpaper. Finally, the beads are run against a leather belt to achieve a fine polish.

Today, fewer artists are cutting their beads by hand, making true handmade heishi necklaces an extremely valuable piece for art and jewelry collectors. Native American artists across the Southwest are known for handcrafting beautiful bead necklaces using iconic gemstones like turquoise, coral, jet, and spiny oyster shell. Beaded jewelry remains a vibrant form, with artists creating both traditional pieces and more contemporary styles using non-traditional gemstones, new bead shapes, unexpected color combinations, and unique necklace silhouettes.

Concho Belt

An icon of Native American jewelry, the concho belt evolved from Plains Indians hair ornaments and Spanish bridle decorations to become a distinctly Navajo form of jewelry. The concho is one of the most widely recognized shapes in Native American jewelry, featuring a silver oval or circle stamped with a central radiating design.

A concho belt features a number of these silver ornaments along a leather belt. The first concho belts were made by Navajo silversmiths in the 1870s–1880s. In these early pieces, artisans punched a diamond-shaped opening in each concho and passed the leather belt through the opening. When Navajo silversmiths learned soldering, they were able to attach a loop to the back of a closed concho and thread the belt through these loops, forming the classic concho belt style we are familiar with today. More than a century after its creation, the concho belt remains one of the most celebrated forms of Native American art, showcasing the artistry and expertise of Native Southwestern silversmiths. The traditional style of wearing concho belts is over layered clothing, often gathering a long blouse or dress, and usually falls over the hips.

Squash Blossom Necklace

The squash blossom necklace is a bold statement piece that represents a storied legacy of jewelry-making by Native Americans of the Southwest.

• The central inverted crescent, called a naja.
• Fluted blossoms were another silver ornament used by Spanish and Mexican people to embellish their clothing. Possibly derived from European pomegranate flowers, this decorative shape was called a squash blossom by Navajo silversmiths.
• Silver beads were introduced to North America by Europeans and had long been prized by the Navajo and other Southwestern Native cultures by the 19th century. When Navajo artisans first learned silversmithing in the 1850s, these beads became a staple of Navajo jewelry.

The first squash blossom necklace was created around 1880, blending these three elements into a distinctive and enduring form. Today, the squash blossom necklace is an icon of Native American and Southwestern jewelry and one of the most recognized types of jewelry in the world. Though an emblem of Southwestern style, it has been embraced by American fashion designers, making its way into high fashion. One of the most valuable and collected forms of Southwestern Native art, squash blossom necklaces are timeless heirlooms that will be enjoyed for generations.

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Materials

Use of Turquoise in Native American Jewelry

Turquoise beads have been made in the Southwest for thousands of years. The Ancestral Pueblo, the ancestors of today’s Pueblo Indian tribes, mined turquoise in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Chaco Canyon, a major Ancestral Pueblo center, was at the heart of turquoise trade routes stretching from the Pacific Northwest to Central America.

Turquoise was not set in silver until the late 19th century after Navajo and Zuni artisans learned metalsmithing. The blue and green gem quickly became a favorite with Native American silversmiths and was extremely popular with tourists visiting the Southwest in the early 20th century. Some Native Americans believe the gem was a gift from the spirits and call it the Sky Stone. Today, turquoise is one of the most iconic images of the Southwest and beloved by Native American jewelry artists.

Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

Sleeping Beauty turquoise, mined in Globe, Arizona, is one of the most prized and collected types of turquoise in the world, renowned for its stunning color and remarkable quality. The gem was named Sleeping Beauty because the mountain where it is mined resembles a beautiful woman lying down with her arms crossed. Its color evokes the clear blue skies of the Southwest—a robin’s egg blue with little to no matrix—and it is favored by artists and jewelers globally. Sleeping Beauty is the gem of choice for Zuni jewelers in their iconic cluster designs. Little turquoise is being extracted from the mine today, and Sleeping Beauty turquoise has become a very expensive collector’s item, associated with fashion, sophistication, and couture jewelry design.

Bisbee Turquoise

Bisbee turquoise is a highly prized turquoise mined in Arizona. Known for its brilliant blue color with a brownish-red spiderweb matrix, Bisbee gems are among the highest quality and most expensive turquoises in the world. The mine has been closed for more than 35 years, making Bisbee turquoise extremely rare and treasured by gemstone collectors.

Morenci Turquoise

Morenci turquoise is a highly prized turquoise mined in southeastern Arizona that ranges from light to bright blue, though some rare high-grade pieces from the mine are extremely dark blue. The mine produces turquoise with a "Birdseye" or "Water Web" matrix pattern as well as gems with an unusual veining of quartz and pyrite that looks silver when polished. The Morenci mine is closed and no longer producing turquoise, making this gemstone difficult to obtain and much sought-after by gemstone and jewelry collectors.

Indian Mountain Turquoise

Indian Mountain Turquoise is a rare and highly prized gem that was mined in northeastern Nevada on the slopes of Bald Mountain. This renowned turquoise deposit was discovered in 1970 by a Shoshone sheepherder and produced very little turquoise in the years it was active. No gemstones have come from this mine in more than two decades, making this type of turquoise an extremely valuable and hard-to-find collector’s item. Indian Mountain is most known for its bluish-green gems with beautiful black spiderweb veining, though the mine produced gems in a range of colors, both green and blue, with black and brown matrix. Today, Indian Mountain turquoise is considered a classic Southwestern turquoise and can only be found in extremely high-end fine art jewelry.

Coral

Native Americans of the Southwest were introduced to coral by the Spanish. For centuries, Native people had been fashioning beads from shells like spiny oyster, and the deep red Mediterranean coral quickly became a prized material. Santo Domingo Pueblo incorporated coral into heishi bead necklaces used for trade or adornment. Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo artists used the gem for adornment and in necklaces worn in ceremonial dances.

Coral was first set in silver in the late 19th century after the Navajo, Zuni, and Pueblo people learned silversmithing. In the 1930s, traders encouraged its use by supplying it to Native artists, particularly the Zuni. Red is a sacred color for the Zuni, who believe coral brings good luck and longevity to the wearer. Native Americans also consider the gem a sign of wealth and status because of its expense and rarity. Whether used alone or in combination with other valuable gems like turquoise, coral remains one of the iconic gemstones of Native American jewelry in the Southwest.

Kingman Turquoise

Kingman turquoise is one of the iconic gemstones of Native American jewelry and a favorite of jewelry collectors around the world. Located in northwest Arizona, Kingman is one of the largest turquoise mines in North America and supplies much of the turquoise used in Native American and Southwestern jewelry. The site has been mined by Native Americans for hundreds of years and is one of only three prehistoric mining sites found in Arizona. Kingman turquoise became famous in the 1950s for its brilliant blue gems with striking black matrix. The mine also produces blue gems with silver matrix and other shades of blue and green turquoise. Over 95 percent of the turquoise that comes out of the mine must be stabilized. The high-grade gems that don’t require stabilization are extremely valuable and among the finest types of turquoise in the world.

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Frequently Asked Questions