Native Jewelry

When you see someone wearing a nice piece of jewelry, you don’t normally think about where it comes from. Malachite is a beautiful green stone that often results from the weathering of copper ores and is found together with azurite, goethite and calcite. The properties of malachite are similar to those of azurite and aggregates of the two minerals are often found together.

So next time you see some malachite rings in the jewelry store you can tell the person you’re with all about its makeup. Most of the malachite that you see has been mined in the Ural Mountains. The mineral has been mined and used for jewelry and other items for more than 3,000 years.

When we think of a watches, we think of a portable device that tells us the time, and sometimes needs a new battery.  Though before these useful devices there was the pocket watch which needed to be kept wound but they were still portable.  Though before these there was still another way of telling time and it used natural materials.  This device was known as a sundial.

There are two known types of sundials.  There is the natural sundials that were believed to be used by the Native Americans and the artificial which is what many of use have seen, the piece of metal that points to numbers.  The natural sundial was used to remind the natives to take part in certain ceremonies or to tell them when the winter was coming.  They would perhaps use a tree and a far of rock and when the shadows reached the rock then that ment that they were to go to sleep or go out on a hunt.  This was the beginning of the movement towards watches.  So we have them to thank for the creation of beautiful turquoise watches that now bless our society.

One of the largest tribes found in North America is the Navajo Natives, or Dine as they prefer to be called among themselves.  It is believed that before they settled in the Southern States such as Arizona they lived in and around the areas now known as Northwestern Canada and Alaska.  After moving to the Arizona area they took on many of the traits of the First Nations native to that area.

  Two of the biggest traits taken on was that of farming for food and living in stable homes, leaving the live of nomads behind.  The homes they lived in were called hogans.  They were created from wooden poles, tree bark, and mud.  Along with their many changes they also took on the art of weaving which they later used to sell to the native Americans.  The Navajo are also credited with creating some of the most beautiful Native American jewelry.  Such as the example below:

Rings are round bands worn around the finger as a type of ornamental jewelry. Rings can be made of metal, plastic, wood, bone, glass and gemstones.  Gemstones can be set on the ring to make it as beautiful and elegant as it can be. They can be precious or semi-precious.  An example of a semi-precious stone is the lapis lazuli.
 
The lapis lazuli was first mined in a province in Afghanistan.  Later traded on to neighboring countries that is why it can be acquired anywhere now.  It has an intense blue color with small flecks of golden pyrite. Lapis rings are often worn as in the olden days, they were believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac.  They were also believed to keep the limbs healthy and free the soul from sin, envy and fear.

Though it is true that tribes and groups of Native Americans had different crafts and arts their jewelry was closely related with each other because of the use of the same materials such as beads, shells, copper, silver, turquoise and other stones.  This made it so that the designs created within them may be different but the use of the jewelry was related such as earrings or necklaces.  

Then as the introduction of colonization to North America the Natives started to accept the new metalwork technique and took on materials such as glass beads.  Though they accepted these changes this does not mean that they lost their traditions, they still used the beads in designs that represented their heritage and they used the traditional symbols.  Also after the introduction of silversmithing to the Southern Natives during the 1800’s the creation of American Indian jewelry flourished to an accomplished level.  

Especially in the case of the bead work as of pre-Columbian times they used very complicated, intrical practices to create magnificent images through their bead work.  The use of beads still prevails today and man native artists are well known for their ability to create pieces of art through this medium.

It is believed that most Native American Silversmiths can be linked back to a Navajo native named Atsidi Saani.  It is said that when the Spanish landed they did not teach the Natives of the area how to smith metals especially that of silver.  Atsidi Saani was believed to be taught how to smith from Fort Defiance in Arizona.  

After learning to smith it is believed that he took what he had learned and shared it with his fellow Native Americans.  He mostly used brass and copper wires but soon made the movement to silver.  The basis of his orginial work was mostly that of silver bracelets and buttons. And the rest is history.

“Wear this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty…”  We hear this line very often when we attend weddings as this mean binding two people who are very much in love and are willing to be together ‘til death do they part.  Rings are ornaments worn on a finger by both men and women and can be of any quality.  Some people prefer wearing just silver or gold and can be studded with any kind of gemstone.  While some prefer to dress their fingers gaudily with just about any kind of accessory or semi-precious stones.  Gems are also often used as rings as well.
 
Gems can be a precious or semi-precious stone and can be very attractive specially once they are cut.  They come in different colors and can be clear or opaque. A turquoise ring is an example of an opaque gem.  It was termed as an ornamental stone through the years due to its unique color.  It is a bluish green stone which can have a pale bluish white streak.  Despite its low hardness compared to other gems, it has a waxy luster and can take a good polish.