The Southwest Jewelry Guide
The Southwest Jewelry Guide
Everything we know about Southwest and Native American jewelry — techniques, stones, forms, history, and the people who made the craft — researched from our reference library and cited to the actual book and page. This guide grows continuously as our library grows.
How we source this guide. Every factual claim in these pages is verified against a physical reference library of more than forty books and primary sources, and cited to the book and page that records it. We strive for accuracy, and this information is continuously updated with new information from the artists, their families, and the community. If you know something we should — or see something we got wrong — tell us. That correction becomes part of the record.
Explore the Guide
🪨 Turquoise & Stones
The stone itself — how to judge it, where it comes from, mine by mine.
- American Turquoise Mines — the pillar guide
- Lone Mountain · Kings Manassa · Royal Blue · Carico Lake · Blue Gem · Pilot Mountain · Stormy Mountain · Crescent Peak · Fox · Villa Grove · Hachita · Jarilla · and more
- Gemstone Guide
- Coral — the red that crossed an ocean (new)
- Spiny Oyster: The Red Shell of Southwest Jewelry — the spondylus story, from 1200 A.D. Anasazi inlay to the Zuni mosaic palette
- The Naja: The Crescent of Southwest Jewelry — from Spanish horse gear to the heart of the squash blossom, with an honest answer on symbolism
- Coin Silver vs. Sterling: The Truth Beneath the Shine — what the metal actually is, why the coins ran out, and why the shine proves nothing (new)
🛡️ Buying with Confidence
- How to Tell Real Turquoise
- Turquoise Rings: A Buyer's Guide — sterling quality, honest stone disclosure, sizing and care (new)
- How to Spot Fake Native American Jewelry
- Buying Authentic Native American Jewelry
- What Is Native American Jewelry Worth?
- Jewelry Care
🧑🎨 The Makers
- The Native Silversmith Directory — hundreds of documented makers, with sourced biographies and hallmarks
- Native American Hallmarks — reading the maker's mark
- The Teaching Tree — five documented generations, from the first named Navajo smith to living artists (new)
- Shops, Trading Posts & Guilds — White Hogan, Woodard’s, the Zuni co-op, and the shops that were also schools (new)
- The Fred Harvey Era — the railroad and the silversmith (new)
🏜️ Traditions & Styles
- Navajo, Zuni & Hopi — the three great traditions
- Native American Jewelry Styles
- Hopi Overlay — the technique that became a tradition (new)
- Stampwork — the first language of Navajo silver (new)
- The Squash Blossom Necklace & the Naja (new)
- Inlay — stone set into silver (new)
- Cluster Work — constellations of turquoise (new)
- Needlepoint & Petit Point — the finest stones (new)
- Symbols: Bear & Bear Paw · Waterbird · Horned Toad · The Hogan · Mesa & Moon · Snakes
📚 The Library
Coming soon: technique deep-dives (tufa casting, overlay, needlepoint, inlay), the forms glossary (squash blossom, naja, ketoh, concho), trading post histories, and the full silversmith teaching lineage.