Daybreak's Guide to Native American Jewelry (Part 2 of 2)

This video is a continuation of last week's video. Since it was the Santa Fe Indian Market Weekend, I made a video discussing Native American jewelry. This video discussed the different stones employed in Native American jewelry, namely red coral, black onyx, lapis, denim lapis, malachite, sugilite, charoite, spiny oyster shell, and the headliner of stones in the southwest... turquoise! I also go into a little detail of how non-local stones began to be experimented with in Native American jewelry.

In my discussion on turquoise, I not only discuss the different varieties based on the different turquoise mines, but how they are graded in level of quality. I also discuss the different types of "treated" turquoise, such as stabilized, reconstituted, or color-treated stones, and how that affects the value of turquoise. I conclude this topic with imitation turquoise, such as howite (turquenite), travertine (mexican onyx), and magnesite.

Lastly, I also talk a little about Native American jewelry beyond the southwest and give a nod to Alaskan/First Nations of Canada artists who are also doing awesum jewelry work. My favorite northern artists are Alaskan artist Denise Wallace and First Nations Cree artist Bill Finn.

Since I learned what I know from my parents who are silversmiths who do the BEST jewelry work ever, I conclude with their work. Information on their handmade Navajo silver jewelry can be found at:

http://www.tellerindianjewelry.com

Enjoy & I hope you enjoyed the conclusion of this series! :-)