Product Name : Description	Price
	5-Stone Turquoise Silver Cuff Bracelet This stunning bracelet has five round and oblong turquoise stones in a stamped silver cuff. This piece shows off the best of Navajo design elements and traditional Southwestern gem stones. The cuff can be adjusted to fit most sizes.	$336.00
	7-Stone Spiny Oyster Silver Cuff Bracelet This stunning bracelet has seven, channel-inlay spiny oyster stones in a stamped silver cuff. The combination of traditional Navajo elements and spiny oyster gemstones works perfectly in this piece. The cuff can be adjusted to fit most sizes.	$312.00
	Green Turquoise Silver Cuff Bracelet with Traditional Navajo Stamped Design This traditional bracelet has a stamped silver cuff with a green turquoise stone. This design has a distinct Native American look that could be worn by either men or women. The cuff can be adjusted as needed.	$104.00
	Large Turquoise Earrings with Post These stunning large turquoise earrings combine traditional Navajo design elements with a breath-taking green-blue stone with gold and brown accents. Stone measures 1 inch in diameter.	$235.00
	Onyx Stamped Silver Cuff Bracelet with Traditional Navajo Stamped Design This beautifully etched, traditional silver bracelet with an onyx stone is appropriate for either men or women. The cuff can be adjusted as needed for most sizes.	$259.00
	Small #8 Turquoise Traditional Native American Pendant with Stamp This small pendant has a simple and traditional Navajo design with a green-blue #8 Turquoise stone with brown accents. The stone measures approximately 7/16 inches across. Pendant comes with a simple, 18 inch flat-drawn silver cable chain. Stones vary in size, shape and color. A heavier silver snake or cable chain could be used to achieve a different look.	$57.00
	Turquoise Flower Dot Earrings These earrings are traditional Navajo flower dot earrings with bright turquoise stones. These are ideal for wearing every day, or with other Native American Jewelry. Approximately 3/8 inches in diameter.	$44.67
	Turquoise Silver Cuff Bracelet with Traditional Navajo Stamped Design This beautifully etched, traditional silver bracelet with a turquoise stone is appropriate for either men or women. The cuff can be adjusted as needed for most sizes.	$259.00
	Unique Royston Turquoise Cuff Bracelet This spectacular Lester Jackson design features a one of a kind Royston Turquoise stone. The quality and craftsmanship of this piece can be seen in every skilled detail, and the beauty of this perfect Royston stone is unparalleled. Designed and made by Lester Jackson, an accomplished Navajo artist, this bracelet is made for a collector of Native American art as much as a jewelry afficionado. Stone measure approximately .75 inches by 1.13 inches.	$750.00

Navajo Jewelry Guide

Earliest History of Navajo Jewelry

The Navajo have called the alluring and legendary Four Corners region of present day Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah home for centuries. With resources derived from the surrounding mountains, pre-colonial Navajo jewelry consisted of abalone shell from the San Francisco Peaks of Flagstaff, white shell from the Blanca Peak of southern Colorado, and turquoise from Mount Taylor in majestic New Mexico. By using crude stone, wood, and obsidian tools, early artisans of Navajo jewelry meticulously carved the rough shapes and edges of the blue and greenish hues of turquoise into decorations of adornment. By painstakingly hand-drilling holes into the abalone shells with a careful ease to avoid cracking, the items were then available for proper placement on necklaces and earrings. Although there have been several evolutions of the design and artistry of Navajo jewelry since these earliest beginnings, all of these evolutions have stayed true to its original roots.

Navajo Jewelry and the Silversmith

The eventual colonization of the Navajo and the subsequent assimilation of ideas that followed brought about a significant addition to Navajo jewelry. During the nineteenth century, the Navajo learned and mastered the trade and art of the silversmith by first observing the Spanish and then consequently learning from the Mexicans. Bracelets, once made of copper and brass, were predominantly made of silver, both for preference of material and aesthetic value. The silver used in Navajo jewelry was formed out of existing material such as wire, coins, and sheet metal. The silver jewelry was thicker and heavier than later years, due both to the materials used and the need for durability.

From the 1830s until the 1870s silver jewelry lacked the adornment of stones due to the inability to bevel, so a focus on design took precedence. One of the methods used to place designs on the silver was by rocker engraving, which involves the back and forth motion of a chisel, all while moving in a forward direction. Influenced by other cultures, many of the designs on Navajo rings and bracelets were similar to the leather stamps used by the Mexican blacksmiths. Improving on another design, conchas worn as hair adornments by the Plains tribes were transformed into belts. As a prelude to things to come, silver beaded necklaces, containing a crescent looking pendant called a naja, were the predecessor and catalyst to the modern squash blossom necklace. With the return of the Navajo to their sacred land in 1868, Navajo jewelry began to be refined, thanks to the improved skills of the master artisans and accessibility to new tools.

Navajo Jewelry and the Railroad

From the 1880s though 1900, the railroad into the southwest brought about increased trade and instrument availability. Artisans perfected and developed the skills necessary to set stones by beveling, in which small slivers of metal, when folded, encase the stone. The ability to bevel allowed stones of turquoise and coral to be set in rings, bracelets, belts, belt buckles, earrings, and pendants. With new tools, designs became more intricate and easier to achieve due to the ability to stamp silver, as opposed to using the chisel method. Designs that once only used one or two dyes now used three or more, and the method of hammering from the underside, called embossing, became commonly used. Concho belts, once attached to leather, were now smoldered together forming a continuation of metal. The ability to shape silver beads into petal looking flowers, when worn with the naja, created the squash blossom necklace. The improved skills of the jewelers, accompanied with the close proximity of the railroad, increased awareness of Navajo jewelry and the demand from tourists increased.

Navajo Jewelry Today

During the twentieth century, Navajo jewelry started to become a mainstream commodity. Once worn for personal adornment, the Navajo jewelers were manufacturing jewelry for the market place. By experiencing with new techniques, the heavier silver jewelry used previously became replaced with a lighter form, thus, allowing for a greater production in volume. Forges previously formed by charcoal are now done with a blowtorch. Commercial soldering became commonplace, making it relatively easy to fuse silver in comparison with earlier laborious methods. The task of smoothing was delegated to sandpaper and stones became machine-cut. The transition and refinement of the jewelers craft in creating Navajo jewelry has evolved over time. Although designs and styles have changed, the combination of silver, turquoise, and red coral are forever a mainstay in modern jewelry.