Jewelry - Southwestern

In the Southwestern United States, the majority of locally manufactured jewelry is made by Native Americans. There is, however, a significant amount of jewelry made by non-Native Americans that shows the influence of Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, and pueblo Indians. The jewelry is often made of the same sterling silver, turquoise, coral, jet, etc., that is used by the Native Americans and from the same mines and sources. But it cannot be called Native American. In fact, it does not even have to be made in the United States.

For a jewelry item to be identifiable as southwestern it probably should resemble designs of jewelry made in the southwest by Native Americans. In fact, it may look exactly like Hopi Overlay or Zuni inlay, but it was mage by someone else. It is probably made from silver and frequently is embellished with turquoise, jet, coral, or other softer stones. The descriptions used by sellers in this section should clearly state where and how the item was made. However, just as with Native American jewelry, it should not be expected that the jeweler/designer manufactured all of the findings used in assembling the product.