American Indian silverwork is a relative new art form beginning in earnest around 1850. Often thought to be an ancient Indian art form, silverwork, did not exist before the arrival of the Spanish settlers. The internment of the Navajo people at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico by the US Army (1864-1868) started the tradition of Native American silverwork. Once released some of the Navajo people continued to practice the art of silverwork. The Zuni people learned the craft from the Navajos and begin to produce their own style of silverwork. The Hopi soon followed with silverwork produced by craftsman that had acquired the skills from visiting traders and though interaction with other southwest tribes.

The founder of the Hubbell Trading post in Arizona, Lorenzo Hubbell, hired Mexican silversmiths to teach the craft to the Navajos that came to the trading post in the mid 1880's.

Most of the early Indian silver work was copies of existing designs from the Spanish. Buttons, hollow beads, horse riding tack, earrings, bracelets and rings were the common items produced during the early years. The pomegranate blossoms favored by the Spanish men to ward off the "evil eye" was copied by the Indian silversmith, the blossom was elongated and became the design known as the squash blossom necklace, the best known and perhaps most traditional form of Indian silverwork. Silver coins, primarily Mexican for their better malleability, was the source of silver for jewelry work until 1930 when Mexico stopped the export of silver coins. The Indian artist turned to sterling silver (92.5% silver) ingots. By the mid 1930's the Indian were purchasing silver stock in thin sheets, wire and preforms from anglo traders. American Indians have never mined and refined silver, preferring to purchase or trade for silver stock.

Turquoise was not used extensively in the production of Indian silver work until the turn of the century. The early turquoise was imported from the middle-east, Iran, and was sold as cut and polished stones. Coral became an important stone beginning in the early 1950's and continues today.

The stamped designs often seen on silver jewelry was done to appease the new market of anglo jewelry buyers. The designs- crossed arrows, lighting bolts, thunderbirds, etc.- was considered by east coast buyers to represent Indian symbols. You could even buy a guide from clever merchants to interpret the meaning of the symbols.

Turquoise has been revered by man for thousands of years for its' beauty and believed properties of good fortune and long life. The earliest know jewelry (5500 BC) contained turquoise and belonged to Egypt's Queen Zar, found with four turquoise bracelets on her arms. The oldest mining operation in the US is the turquoise mine located at Cerrillos, New Mexico. This large deposit of high-grade turquoise was worked by ancient Indian groups using stone-age tools. Turquoise is found throughout the world close to past volcanic activity in deposits of copper ore. The mined stones come in an incredible array of color, matrix, and hardness. This precious gemstone has been incorporated into Native American jewelry and artwork for the past century and the industry of Indian artisans continues today. Considered to be a dramatic fashion statement and good investment, turquoise jewelry remains highly desirable and collectible. Native American turquoise jewelry is currently enjoying a strong market.

Most of the turquoise produced today in the United States is mined in conjunction with a large copper mining operation. The mines enter into agreements with independent contractors to remove the turquoise. Often, the contractors are limited to short periods of operation. The ore is then processed for commercial sale. Most of the old well known mines - Battle Mountain Blue gem, Fox, Morenci, Bisbee, to name a few- no longer produce turquoise. A few independent miners work small mines and offer high-grade turquoise for sale. The Native American artisans purchase the stones from commercial traders and generally the stones are already shaped and polished at the mine into the familiar cabs and tumbler polished nuggets. An exception would be the Hopi tribe, they prefer to cut, shape and polish most of the turquoise used in their art.

Turquoise is a hydrous hydrate of copper, aluminum and phosphorus or hydrous aluminum phosphate colored by copper salts. The chemical composition of turquoise basically looks like: (CuAl6 (PO4)8 4H2) and may contain various other elements in the matrix. The blue color of the stone comes from the aluminum. When iron atoms replace the aluminum atoms in the lattice the colors tend to range to the green shades. The matrix of inclusions often include iron pyrite; which, when polished is silver to black. Many different combinations of included matrix materials and colors are found depending on the host rock. The hardness of the stones comes from the included silica. The luster of a polished quality turquoise stone should come from within and not just reflected light from the surface. Considering all the complex chemical reactions and natural forces that must occur combined with the incredibly long periods of time required it is a miracle of nature that we have this gorgeous gemstone. Many of the ancient native cultures considered turquoise to be a supreme gift from the Gods.

Early American Indian jewelry was created using imported Persian, now Iran, turquoise. This variation usually is clear of any matrix and is very blue. The Navajos begin using locally produced turquoise and tended to favor the green shades. They came to place high value on turquoise with matrix inclusions forming the contrasting web patterns common in today's jewelry. Almost all of the turquoise Indian jewelry produced is mounted in silver. An occasional piece will utilize gold but these show pieces are quite rare and very expensive when available.

The difference between natural and stabilized turquoise can best be stated in dollars. The natural stones are quite rare and command a much higher price. The stabilized turquoise remains turquoise after being treated in a proprietary method of infusing hard polymers into the matrix of the stone developed by Colbaugh Processing in the fifties. The process allows lower grade softer stones to be hardened through stabilization to an extent that the stones can survive the cutting and polishing. The process enhances the natural color but does not alter it. A variation of the stabilization process includes dyes that can alter the natural color. Most of the nugget necklaces and turquoise heishe are produced from stabilized stone. Stabilized turquoise offers today's Indian jewelry buyer with the best bargain since the availability of natural stones of sufficient quality are very expensive and scarce. Without this form of turquoise many of today's best Indian silversmiths would be unemployed.

Imitation turquoise represents the bottom rung and is not turquoise. Rather, a colored plastic material attempts to replace the real stone. We do not sell any form of fake turquoise so will not go any further with this description other than to say buyer beware. You can do a simple test to determine if the turquoise is real. Heat a sewing needle to visible heat and attempt to push the heated point into the stone. If the needle penetrates you don't have turquoise. The knowledgeable jewelry buyer will choose pieces that are first appealing and useful. Turquoise has always been a great hedge against inflation so the purchase of a piece of quality Indian made jewelry is an investment and Native American Indian art you can wear.

We have provided a map of some of the better known turquoise mines in the southwest. Most of the mines we show are no longer producing but the turquoise from the them remains with us in some of the fabulous pieces of Indian jewelry that occasionally come to market.