Meet Adam Fierro Contemporary Silversmith

Adam Fierro is a contemporary jewelry silversmith from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

My name is Adam Fierro from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I specialize in contemporary southwestern jewelry. I was born in Gallup New Mexico, raised in Albuquerque and raised in the jewelry business ever since he was born. My Grandmother was from Santa Clara Pueblo, My grandfather was Native as well (White Mountain Apache). I learned from my grandfather and am not a third generation jeweler. (Adam does not claim a tribal affiliation)  My Grandfather used to make jewelry and sell it in Gallup as something he did on the side. My father and I took his ideas and began to make them our own.

I start off with a stone, once the stone is cut then I go from there. Then it’s basically a freestyle. I look at the stone and if figure out what might look good, then ill start down the line. If I end up not liking something, then ill take it apart or make it look better and build around it. Having this type of stone and this type of freestyle cuts allows me to be more creative and be more unique.

I cut my own stones, we back our own stone, we “lap” it, we polish it. I really enjoy cutting stones. The most important part of the process is the stone, I focus so much on the turquoise, it is part of who I am and what I do.   I focus all I can on beautiful turquoise stones.

I like to make contemporary style jewelry, something that stands out from the rest. I have a bit of a southwestern flair but a contemporary piece consists of it being unique even to other pieces that I do. Nothing ever stays the same, I can’t even duplicate my jewelry even if I tried. I challenge other artists if they can duplicate that style then you can keep that style.

I like to do different kinds of insects, like scorpions, spiders, even lizards or anything that will challenge me in the silver work. It’s great to do something that nobody has ever seen before and difficult to duplicate.

Look for one of a kind type jewelry. There are certain styles out there that you see over and over again but finding something that is just as unique as you are as a person, that’s what people should look for in a piece of art rather than something that has been duplicated over and over. I think I stand out because everything I do is one of a kind for that one of a kind person. You’ll never meet another person like me, or you or anybody, so finding something that is as unique as the individual means a lot!