| The Beautiful blue and green hues of
| |
| | squash-blossom craze lasted until 1940,
|
| turquoise have long been prized by the
| |
| | when they were discontinued by most
|
| Native American peoples of the
| |
| | Indian artisans for requiring too much
|
| southwestern part of the USA. Entire
| |
| | work and too much turquoise.
|
| cultures were built on mining turquoise
| |
| | In the 1920's and 1930's, the concho belt
|
| and crafting sacred and special items
| |
| | changed from a simple silver belt to a
|
| from the attractive stone in areas which
| |
| | more ornate belt with one to multiple
|
| are now part of both New Mexico and
| |
| | turquoise stones in all the individual
|
| Nevada. American Indian peoples were
| |
| | sections of the belt. The tourist jewelry
|
| making necklace strands and other
| |
| | of that era is highly collectable today.
|
| turquoise jewelry by hand many centuries
| |
| | It began to be noticed that sales of
|
| before the first European settlers
| |
| | Native American jewelry had significant
|
| arrived. Because turquoise was so highly
| |
| | potential to provide a reliable income
|
| prized, it was widely exchanged and
| |
| | source to tribal members across Arizona
|
| circulated among the Native peoples of
| |
| | and New Mexico. During those years,
|
| the Americas, and the each of the tribes
| |
| | schools and classes were established at
|
| developed their own unique names for the
| |
| | several reservations to train young men
|
| striking blue stone. Scientific testing
| |
| | in the trade of making Native American
|
| has proven that some ancient beads found
| |
| | style Sterling and turquoise jewelry. In
|
| in central and South America were
| |
| | the following decades, many very talented
|
| originally dug from the Cerrillos
| |
| | artists came out of these schools. During
|
| turquoise mines near Santa Fe, New
| |
| | the years following WWII, many Americans
|
| Mexico.
| |
| | traveled across the country, and on their
|
| When the Europeans brought the technology
| |
| | trips through the Arizona-New Mexico
|
| of working metals like silver with them
| |
| | area, discovered that local traders had
|
| to the new world, the American Indians
| |
| | rooms full of this Native American
|
| who learned the silver smith trade
| |
| | jewelry, which the traders called pawn
|
| learned eventually began to add turquoise
| |
| | pieces. Most of these were jewelry pieces
|
| with the silver to develop their own
| |
| | the Indian people made for themselves and
|
| special style of jewelry. A Zuni man by
| |
| | pawned for one of two reasons: either
|
| the name of Kineshde is believed to be
| |
| | they needed money, or it was considered a
|
| the first to add turquoise to the hand
| |
| | safe storage place. As a result of the
|
| crafted silver items he was making in the
| |
| | popularity of these pawn pieces, a host
|
| late 1800s.
| |
| | of trading posts sprang up in the
|
| Turquoise first came into popular high
| |
| | Southwest and knowledge of this unique
|
| fashion in the US during the early 1890s,
| |
| | style of jewelry became much more
|
| but Persian turquoise was the focus of
| |
| | widespread. New jewelry was also created
|
| the demand at that time, and only a few
| |
| | to meet the growing tourist demand. Those
|
| deposits of high quality turquoise were
| |
| | who appreciated the beautiful American
|
| known in the US. In the following years,
| |
| | turquoise began to recognize the general
|
| a number of high quality deposits
| |
| | differences in matrix patterns and color,
|
| previously worked by Native Americans
| |
| | etc. between the different mine sources.
|
| were "rediscovered", and shortly after
| |
| | During this time, which extended to the
|
| 1900 and Americans began to recognize
| |
| | early 1950's, turquoise began to be
|
| that American turquoise from the Western
| |
| | named, for sales purposes, after the mine
|
| US was the equal of any in the world.
| |
| | in which it was found, such as Lone
|
| Interest again began to peak around
| |
| | Mountain, Royston, Blue Gem, and others.
|
| 1908-1910, and a considerable amount of
| |
| | An increasing number of American Indians
|
| American turquoise was mined, especially
| |
| | continued to handcraft silver jewelry in
|
| in Nevada. The majority of the Turquoise
| |
| | the 1950s and early 1960's in the
|
| jewelry produced prior to 1910 was made
| |
| | traditional way. Up to that time their
|
| by well-known jewelry manufacturing
| |
| | work was generally popular only in the
|
| companies like Tiffany's, and was
| |
| | southwest region of the US, but the
|
| produced in the standard Victorian styles
| |
| | increasing amount of material available
|
| of those times.
| |
| | began to enable a larger audience to see
|
| None of this was what we would recognize
| |
| | and appreciate this beautiful style of
|
| as Indian style turquoise jewelry. There
| |
| | jewelry art. Even so, it did not become
|
| were a few Native Americans making
| |
| | widely popular across the entire US until
|
| turquoise and silver pieces in what we
| |
| | the late 1960's and early 1970's. At that
|
| now see as the traditional style, but
| |
| | time the simple and natural beauty of
|
| they produced very few pieces and their
| |
| | turquoise jewelry became the rage of the
|
| very simple tools increased the man hours
| |
| | American fashion scene. The prices of the
|
| each piece needed for completion. That
| |
| | old pawn jewelry rocketed upward, and a
|
| era was essentially the dawn of the
| |
| | craze for Indian turquoise jewelry
|
| traditional styles for silver-turquoise
| |
| | swelled and boosted demand (and prices)
|
| jewelry. America's fascination with
| |
| | for turquoise to previously undreamed
|
| turquoise and genuine Indian Jewelry
| |
| | levels. The increased prices and demand
|
| really began in earnest during the 1920's
| |
| | caused the re-opening of many mines and
|
| when more people from outside the
| |
| | the import of Indian "style" jewelry made
|
| southwest began to see the beauty of this
| |
| | by manufacturers in Mexico, Taiwan, and
|
| artistic jewelry.
| |
| | the Philippines. In time, the market
|
| At that time, the Harvey House restaurant
| |
| | became glutted, the consumer was confused
|
| chain opened a number of facilities
| |
| | by overpriced synthetic, stabilized and
|
| across the southwest during the great
| |
| | plastic imitation materials and by 1981
|
| days of popular rail travel across the
| |
| | the supply was high but the demand was
|
| US. At first, Indian Jewelry was only
| |
| | gone.
|
| sold as curios in the restaurants for the
| |
| | The market collapsed and most of the
|
| patrons touring the west. Earrings and
| |
| | American turquoise mines were shut down
|
| thin, small bracelets stamped with arrows
| |
| | and have remained closed since that time.
|
| and bows and containing symmetrically cut
| |
| | Turquoise demand hit a low water mark in
|
| small oval pieces of turquoise were the
| |
| | the early 1980s, but has been slowly and
|
| types most in demand. The pieces produced
| |
| | steadily increasing in popularity since
|
| during this time are still termed as
| |
| | that time. Most American mines have
|
| having been made in the "Fred Harvey"
| |
| | remained closed, and in recent years high
|
| style. Heavy Indian Jewelry did not
| |
| | demand for natural American turquoise has
|
| become popular until after 1925, when the
| |
| | caused once again significant increases
|
| classic squash-blossom necklaces were
| |
| | in prices.
|
| first brought to the tourist market. The
| |
| |
|
