Indian Jewelry

It’s hot! it’s happenin’ and it’s a better than $3 billion industry gracing the covers of the world’s top magazines. Best of all, it’s back again, after a 30-year respite, as the most popular personal adornment to wear and collect.

Indian Jewelry—silver and gold, turquoise, and coral, and intricate inlays of both, mixed with red or pink coral, malachite, lapis, sugilite, pearl, shell...even opal; it’s fabulous, it’s fun. And, gloriously, outrageously, blatantly, you can wear as much of it as you want to. When stocks are plummeting, dot coms are waffling, hemlines wavering and the economy downright funky, here’s a way to rise above it all.

It goes with anything—everything—in your closet. There’s no wrong way to wear it, noplace you can’t wear it. Market, meeting, vacation, hike or horseback ride. Wherever you go, it will go too.

Although Indian Jewelry comes without turquoise, this blue/green mineral is a key andmuch-coveted component. It’s the signature element. And, the older and rarer, the better. As a gemstone, turquoise has been around over 8,000 years. The Egyptians were mining it in 6,000 BC and considered it to have mystical, metaphysical and healing qualities as did many other ancient cultures. Asians (and the Zuni) thought it protected them from evil. Apaches believed it helped them on the hunt. Mexican Indians reserved turquoise for the gods and those who directly served them. Mere mortals could not own or wear it. Europeans imbued it with qualities of prosperity.

That’s definitely true for the Navajo, who have turned Indian Jewelry into a multi-billion dollar cottage industry. Combining turquoise and other stones with silver and gold, they produce much of the traditional “Indian Jewelry” you see today.

The style probably dates to about 1880, when a white trader persuaded a Navajo craftsman to make turquoise and silver jewelry using coin silver. Prior to this time, Native Americans had made solid turquoise beads, carvings, and inlaid mosaics. Making jewelry from silver goes back even further, probably to around 1864, when Navajo blacksmith Atsidi Sani (“old Smith”), along with 8,000 other Navajo, was rounded up and sent to Fort Sumner in New Mexico. During their forced exile, the Navajo were supposed to learn to farm and thus renounce their nomadic lifestyle. Few did, but the Navajo are an adaptable people, and many took up other trades, such as weaving and silversmithing, learned from their captors and from the Mexicans. Major Henry Wallen, the Commandant of Ft. Sumner in 1864 noted of his captives, “Some of them are quite clever as silversmiths.”

Archeological excavation of the Anasazi, Mogollon and Hohokam of the desert southwest reveal a vast trading system existed in the Americas. It is believed the Pueblo peoples, and before them the Mibres and Hohokam created jewelry of turquoise and other stones, shells, beads, even parrot feathers which originated with the Mayan and Aztec cultures to the south.

Evidence exists of turquoise mining by prehistoric peoples in what is now Cerillos and the Burro Mountains of New Mexico, Kingman and Morenci in Arizona and the Conejos areas of Colorado. As a medium of exchange, turquoise dates back to pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas, and it was certainly a key trade item in the Chacoan civilization that engaged in commerce with the Mayans and the native peoples of at least two continents. Anasazi commerce was based on turquoise. More recently, the Navajo (within the last hundred years or so) have developed a thriving cottage industry based on this unusual stone.

Turquoise ranges from sky blue to green to a greyish yellow. In general the bluer the blue, the more valuable the stone. Good quality stones are opaque with a slightly waxy luster. Traditionally, a clear even texture without mottling or veins was preferred, but now, veined or spiderwebbed turquoise is popular as is that with a distinct green color. “Old pawn,” jewelry which was used as a trade item 50 or more years ago, especially if the silver comes from old coins, is also highly prized. Also valuable is turquoise which comes from high-quality mines that are no longer producing, such as the Lander Mine in Nevada. (Tibetan or Chinese turquoise, for example, is worth about one-tenth of that from the Lander Mine.)

Because it has become a booming industry, Indian jewelry and turquoise have attracted a lot of copycats, especially from Middle Eastern countries. Here are some things to watch for, beginning with the old caveat, “Buyer Beware.” If the price is too good to be true, don’t buy. Less than one percent of turquoise is “gem quality,” with a price of well above $50 a carat. Much of the “turquoise” you see on the market today (especiallly if it is inexpensive) is made with chips or “chalk." It is soft, porous and brittle and has been “stabilized” with resins to seal it and dyed to improve color. Neither treatment will hold up in the long run.

In between gemstones and chalk chips, and what most reputable merchants carry today, is “mine run.” Constituting about 20% of the market, this is average turquoise that does not require stabilizing (although the process does strengthen it), and it has a natural luster which will hold a polish. When looking at coral, another key component of Indian Jewelry, make sure you aren’t buying plastic or resin, two common replacements. Real coral comes from the sea; it takes time to form and it costs accordingly.

As for the smithing, high-quality Indian Jewelry is made from heavy-gauge silver (not alloyed nickel or other metals, which are lighter and flimsier) and/or 24 carat gold rather than gold-plate. As a rule of thumb, if you pick it up and it feels too light for the price, put it back down again and spend your money elsewhere. Native American pieces also carry the artist’s signature or mark. If you buy a “signature” piece, then the signature should be there and the price should match. Your best bet is to know and trust the people you are buying from.

A word on “trading posts.” A genuine trading post deals directly with and buys from Native American Indians who themselves produce the jewelry or "trade" jewelry for cash (pawn) or other goods and services. Shopping there, you may also see Native peoples actively engaging in trade. There are very few genuine trading posts left in the United States.

Conversely, a gift shop billed as a “trading post” usually buys product at “market,” and though their goods may be labeled “Native American” or “Indian Jewelry,” the pieces could have been made in China, Iran, Hong Kong or anyplace else other than the American Southwest. Or, their jewelry could be made in the southwest and mass marketed from turquoise chips and imitation silver. Of course, you might just find the genuine article, if you know what to look for.

Check for price, quality, jeweler’s mark. Even the latter is no guarantee, however. Navajo jeweler Tommy Jackson, who marks his high-quality, beautifully made jewelry with his “T. Jackson” signature has discovered poor-quality, copy-cat pieces bearing the same mark and manufactured in the Mid-east. He has since changed his signature to include a fish symbol.

Finally, the color of natural turquoise will change with wear and use. Handsoap, perspiration, perfume, household chemicals, even water, can change the color. Be sure to remove your jewelry before washing your hands or using chemicals. Real silver will tarnish, so be prepared with a polishing cloth. (But, don’t use a grainy compound to clean silver jewelry; you’ll rub away the intricate designs over time.)

A popular Indian Jewelry design is the “squash blossom” (like the coral squash worn by the model on the previous page). The design originated with a “naja,” a crescent-shaped ornament worn by horses of the Moorish empire and North African pomegranate blossoms. The Spanish adopted the design and when they came to the Americas, brought it with them. The designs were then adapted by the Navajo and other groups here. Another design resource was German silver (an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc), often fashioned into religious symbols, such as a cross. The Navajo used these design elements, not because of their religious origin, but because of the shapes, styles and materials, which they found pleasing. In time, they, and other Native American jewelers, added design components based on their own cultures. But even though today’s work shows a contemporary influence, the basic designs are still there. And still recognizable.

Indian Jewelry is creative design and intricate execution. To wear it and own it brings pride to the jeweler and to the buyer.

So, go forth and add to your collection. Buy it, wear it, give it as gifts. And next time, don’t wait for the next resurrection of this gorgeous stuff. Think how much fun you’ll have making Indian Jewlery an everyday part of your wardrobe for the next 30 years.

Jewelry shown is from: Ellis Tanner Trading, Gallup, N.M.; Ortega's Trading, Silverton, Colo., and Mesa, Ariz.; Storyteller Indian Store, Silverton, Colo. and Carefree, Ariz.; Whistle Stop, (formerly Silverton Colo.) and Tombstone, Ariz. Clothing is from Rockin P Ranch, Ouray, Colo. Hats, High Country Leather, Ouray, Colo.

1). Ann Hoffman, formerly of Ouray, Colo., is wearing a Tommy Jackson turquoise and silver bolo, silver and turquoise earrings and bracelets from Ellis Tanner Trading,turquoise cluster rings from Ortegas Trading Post, a fur-trimmed vest, jersey skirt and long-sleeved top, all from Rockin P Ranch.

2). Kathy Stillhorn Boden, Silverton, Colo. and Scottsdale, Ariz., wears a multiple strand coral and fetish necklace, coral concho belt and coral needlepoint bracelet, all Ellis Tanner Trading, Tommy Singer inlaid necklace from Storyteller, coral cluster bracelet and pin from Ortega's Trading.

3). Rachel Wilson, Silverton, Colo. and New York, N.Y.., wears Tony Aguilar 's silver and green turquoise necklace, bracelet and earrings from Ortega Trading, turquoise cluster hair clip, concho, bracelet and rings, from Tanner Trading. Hand-painted Patty Lewis suede jacket and jersey skirt and top all from Rockin P Ranch.