Indian Jewelry A Brief Story

Native American Indian Jewelry is unique from any other Silver Jewelrymade elsewhere in the world. The Navajo are world famous for their extensive Silver Stamp work.

Their stampwork is done by scribing guide lines in the Silver with a pair of dividers. Once this is done they use stamping tools made our of old files or steel that can be tempered and use a heavy hammer to stamp the designs in deep into the Silver.

Most Navajo Silversmithsmake their own stamps by softening the steel by using a torch and heating the metal red hot and letting it cool down slowly. They then use small files to file the designs into the steel. Once they have the stamp the way they want it, they harden the steel by heating up red hot again and then when the metal is just the right temperature, they quench it in oil or cold water.

Navajo Indian Jewelry with stampwork is unusual and collectible. Check our our Navajo Silversmith page