Native Jewelry

Native Jewelry styles were different in every Native American Indian tribe, but the differences were less marked than with other arts and crafts, because Native jewelry and the materials used for making it (beads, shells, copper and silver, ivory, amber, turquoise and other stones) were major trade items long before the arrival of Europeans in America. After colonization, Native jewelry-making traditions remained strong, incorporating, rather than being replaced by, new materials and techniques such as glass beads and more advanced metalworking techniques. There are two very general categories of American Native jewelry: metalwork, and beadwork. Before Europeans came native jewelry and Native American metalwork was fairly simple, consisting primarily of hammering and etching copper into pendants or earrings and fashioning copper and silver into beads. After Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo artists learned silversmithing from the Spanish in the 1800's, native jewelry arts blossomed in the Southwest, and distinctive native jewelry like the squash blossom necklace, Hopi silver overlay bracelets, and Navajo turquoise inlay rings developed from the fusion of the new techniques with traditional designs. Native beadwork, on the other hand, was already extremely advanced in pre-Columbian times, including the fine grinding of turquoise, coral, and shell beads into smooth heishi necklaces, the delicate carving of individual wood and bone beads, the soaking and piecing of porcupine quills, and the intricate stitching of thousands of beads together. The bead jewelry is still a major part of today's native jewelry. All of the old forms of beadwork are still going strong, though imported Czech seed beads have been the favored medium among many Indian artists for centuries now. Today vintage native jewelry and modern native jewelry, especially Silver Jewelry, turquoise jewelry is extremely populare and collectible.

Vintage Native Jewelry from America

Vintage Native jewelry around the world is valuable, especially vintage Native American Jewelry. The Turquoise used in Vintage Native Jewelry is very important, as it is a great way to further identify the authentic American Native Jewelry. Native Jewelry from America, especially silver jewelry, turquoise jewelry is especially popular and collectible. Vintage native jewelry is known for its heavy construction. A lot of the vintage Native American jewelry was made with heavy silver and large Turquoise stones. Of all the vintage Native American jewelry and vintage silver jewelry from American some of the most collectible and most famous is the antique Navajo jewelry. A lot of the vintage Native American Jewelry you will find in pawn shops or in a southwest silver gallery will be Zuni Native Jewelry such as Petti Point Jewelry, Needle Point Jewelry or Inlay Jewelry. Any type of Vintage Indian Jewelry you purchase will be well worth the investment, so never hesitate to invest in vintage or antique Native American Jewelry or vintage silver jewelry.

Modern Native Jewelry from America

Modern Native jewelry is comprised mainly of plain silver jewelry, gold jewelry, inlay jewelry, petti point jewelry, needle point jewelry, and navajo jewelry style with an emphasis on Turquoise Jewelry. Learn more on our Native American presentation page or by shopping our selection of Native Jewelry. You will find that Durango Silver Company handles a wide variety of silver jewelry including Turquoise jewelry, Indian jewelry, gemstone jewelry and gold jewelry. We try our best to have a wide variety of HIGH END handmade jewelry at the best price. We cary Turquoise Beaded Jewelry, silver jewelry - vintage and modern.

Thank you for your interest in our article on Native Jewelry.