Turquoise Jewelry

The qualities of turquoise are alluring and mystical, stirring different emotions amongst various tribes. Turquoise jewelry has been found in prehistoric Hohokam burial sites, highlighting the importance turquoise played in the everyday lives of the Southwestern inhabitants. Mining turquoise for centuries, the Pueblo tribes associate the gemstone with the eternal sky, host of the life-giving sun and rain. Assigned human qualities, the Zuni associate the perfect blue turquoise with the male, while the green turquoise represents the female. Made from turquoise and other natural resources, the zoomorphic Zuni fetishes are believed to have supernatural powers. Tossed into a river or stream, the Navajo would offer turquoise in exchange for rain, hoping to boost crop production. According to their oral history, passed from generation to generation, the legendary Turquoise Boy and Turquoise Girl reside in the sacred Mt. Taylor. By attaching turquoise to bows, and later guns, the Apache believed that it enabled them to shoot straight. No matter the tribe, the mythological powers associated with turquoise are varied yet prevalent, and the importance of turquoise jewelry in Native American cultures cannot be overstated.

Turquoise jewelry is composed of a variation of styles, ranging from the larger turquoise nuggets used in necklaces and bracelets, to the smaller needlepoint cuts used in, but not limited too, earrings, pendants and rings. Because of the chalklike qualities of turquoise, nugget cuts produce less waste and are favored for their total use. During the first half of the twentieth century, the improved lapidary skills of the Southwestern tribes allowed for a diversity of cuts including the needlepoint, petit point and snake eyes. While needlepoint cut turquoise is fashioned into small pieces with two pointed ends, petit point cut turquoise has just one end pointed while the other end rounded. The smaller domed round pieces used in turquoise jewelry, referred to as snake eyes, are prevalent in intricate yet simplistic designs. Turquoise tabs and turquoise discs have been used in the production of bracelets and necklaces for both prehistoric and present times.

With a propensity for wearing turquoise jewelry, the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and Pueblos of New Mexico have incorporated the gemstone into different fashions of jewelry. The Navajo use turquoise as the centerpiece for most of their silver jewelry, often forming the silver around the jewel. Prior to silver, the Navajo made jacas, Navajo for earrings, out of small beads of turquoise, usually with the center containing looped beads of shell. For centuries, the Santa Domingo shaped turquoise and shell into meticulously small beads called Heishi. Used for necklaces, Heishi comes in single to multiple spaghetti-sized strands. In combination with silver, the Zuni have mastered inlay skills by using small pieces of turquoise in channel and cluster work. The Hopi have used turquoise as an overlay over cottonwood root and silver, for earrings and belt buckles. From skilled lapidary work to impressive beveling skills, turquoise jewelry has evolved through time and is an important mainstay in modern Native American jewelry.

Turquoise - The Gemstone

Often found in desert regions, the majority of turquoise mined in the United States is located in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. Turquoise, a secondary mineral, is found in metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks, and is often located within 100 feet of the earth’s surface. The colors of turquoise range from bright blues to light greens, with blue turquoise indicative of the presence of copper, while the green turquoise displays the presence of iron. Depending on the host rock, the matrix comes in a variety of colors including but not limited to brown, white, gray, yellow and red. Mines from different locations produce turquoise of different hues, porosity and density, although it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the sources of lesser-valued stones.