Navajo Jewelry ~ A Brief by purplejammy

Please be aware before reading any of our Guides.....that we're NOT experts on any subject, nor do we claim to be. We're simply.....people who've collected all types of jewelry from all over the world....for over 40 years.

We used to travel to AZ and NM etc pretty frequently, on buying trips to supply our shops (back in the heyday 1960's & 1970's when American Native-Indian turquoise & sterling jewelry was really enjoying one of its MANY revivals....and when we sold tons of sterling) ! You avid colelctors of this lovely jewelry genre might concur with us that interest in this old art form seems to ebb & flow over the years, sometime si truns HOT, somtimes COLD, yet we'll love it eternally.

As many if us already know, the Indians of America, as well as native peoples of many other countries worlwide, have been adorning themselves with ornamentation and jewelry for centuries.

The nomadic Navajo are said to have been the first American Indian blacksmiths - they had learned the smithing techniques from their Mexican traders (and, the Mexicans had evidently learned 'smithing from the Spanish...or so the story goes).

Once the Navajo artisans got hold of the processes, the skill of blacksmithing was passed on to other Navajo family members & was also passed on to other tribes. Blacksmithing techniques helped evolve the art of silversmithing (as we would term it today) which was the needed art skill whereby the Navajo jewelry-artisans created their stunning jewelry designs. Silver was the basis for most of the jewelry, yet many artisans incorporated (and still do) other materials including red coral, abalone, shell, onyx, mother-of-pearl, and numerous additional materials. Some of the early designs we see in modern museums or galleries night appear rather crude, depending on how long you've collected and what your knowledge level is regarding this jewelry genre.

As far as our preferences go......we actually prefer some of the early Navajo work to the more modern styles, yet we truly love & collect all of it. 

Navajo artisans made silver jewelry & traded it with the white man, other traders, settlers, posts etc.

Navajo designs are noted for their elaborate, ornate styles & silver designs.

The Navajos are said to have first designed the squash necklace (some might argue & we respect that). Navajo artisans typically used elaborate silverwork for the ornate squash designs - it's basically accepted that the Zuni added turquoise to the squash for even more ornamentation. The Zunis were splendid lapidaries and loved turquoise. Also used for ornamentations were materials such as bone, etc.

Feel welcome to read our more in-depth writing about American Indian jewelry in one of our other guides.

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(NOTE: Our original words belong soley to us, purplejammy on eBay - our knowledge comes through many years of showing, buying, appraising, presenting, researching, traveling, trading, marketing & collecting everything lovely including authentic American-Indian Artisan Jewelry - we love sharing our knowledge, yet we will never regard ourselves as experts - we leave that status to others).