Santa Fe Rose Jewelry and Gifts

Navajo Made Natural Stone and
Sterling Jewelry - Necklaces, Hair Clips, Barrettes, Earrings (Post and Clip) and Much More 



George Begay (Navajo) Fancy Silverwork and Turquoise Cuff Bracelet
One of a Kind

Exquisite Sterling foliate applique work on this one of a kind bracelet by George Begay. The bracelet was purchased directly from the artist in Santa Fe.

 It is very heavy gauge Sterling weighing 55.6 grams on my scale.

 The bracelet is set with 8 blue green pieces of turquoise. Each piece of turquoise measures approximately ¼ inch long.

 The bracelet measures 1 and ¼ inches wide at the widest point and tapers down to just short of an inch in the back. The bracelet measures 6.5 inches around (measured on top of the bracelet) with an opening of close to 1.5 inches for a total of 8 inches. A very comfortable cuff bracelet to wear.

 The piece is hallmarked by the artist – GB Sterling.

Price: $650



Navajo Animal Carving
Fetish-Type Necklaces

Hand made Navajo necklaces by Lena Cowboy of the Hard Rock area, Navajo Reservation. Lena is a beautiful weaver but also does innovative beaded jewelry. These items were purchased during the Fall Adopt a Native Elder Food Run to assist the traditional elders on the reservation.

Horses 20 Inch Necklace

Hand beaded Navajo necklace with a variety of real stone horse carvings. The main necklace is made of turquoise and shell beads. The clasp is a silver lobster claw clasp and there is a 2 inch extention so the necklace can extend to 22 inches. The main horse measures 1 and 3/4 long. These are substantial carvings with inlaid eyes. A beautifully made necklace.

Price: $125



Animals 28 Inch 2 Strand Necklace with Black Bear

Hand beaded Navajo necklace with a variety of real stone animal carvings. The main necklace is made of turquoise and shell beads. The beads are smaller and more delicate than on the previous two necklaces. The clasp is a silver hook clasp. Each carving is a bit over an inch long. These are substantial carvings with inlaid eyes. The main carving, a standing black bear measures 1.5 inches high.  A beautifully made necklace.

Price: $95

Navajo Four Directions Reversible Pendants

Stylish hand made Navajo pendants (some two-sided) with natural stones set in Sterling silver. Stones include turquoise, spiney oyster, pink quartz, onyx, coral.

The background of the pendants are burnished to antique them. Two-sided pendants with feathers (movable) measure 3 and 1/4 inches long including the bail. All one of a kind. Select the pendant number when ordering.

Pendant #1 Side 1

Pendant #1 Side 2

Price: $120 

Pendant #2 Side 1

Pendant #2 Side 2

Price: $120 



Pendant #3 Side 1

Pendant #3 Side 2

Price: $120 

Pendant #4 Side 1Pendant #4 Side 2

Price: $120 

Navajo Four Directions Pendant

One-sided pendant measures 2 inches long including the bail. Green turquoise stone set in sterling.

Price: $60 

Clip Earrings
Navajo Made
Sterling and Gemstone

Sterling and Turquoise Clip Earrings
 

Beautiful sterling clip earrings by a Navajo artist. Set with Turquoise.
They are signed with the initials MC.
They measure 1 inch long.

Price: $45 

Beautiful sterling clip earrings by a Navajo artist. Set with Turquoise.
They are signed with the initials AY.
They measure 1 inch long. Nice and heavy - high quality.

Price: $55

 Hook and Post Earrings
For Pierced Ears

Navajo Sterling Earrings with Turquoise

These beautifully made earrings are sterling silver with chunky turquoise. They measure 3/4 inch in length. They are for pierced ears and have a nice post with push back clip.

Price: $55

 

About Navajo Jewelry
The Spanish, arriving on Navajo lands from Mexico, to the south, introduced silversmithing to the Navajo.

Navajo metalsmiths were not only responsible for the inception of Navajo jewelry, but the introduction of silversmithing to Hopi and Zuni artisans. 

One of the most prominent early Navajo jewelry silversmiths, Atsidi Sani, learned metalsmithing techniques from a Mexican man living near Mount Taylor, New Mexico.  He is often credited with the emergence of Navajo silver jewelry, first by teaching his four sons and they in turn, teaching others in the newly formed Navajo Nation.

Early Navajo jewelry consisted of simple earrings, ketohs, belt fasteners and bracelets.  Traders provided tools and supplies such as silver coins and slugs.  More important, traders gave Indian silversmiths a place to trade and sell their work. 

In the 1920’s sheet silver replaced silver slugs, allowing artists to work more quickly since they no longer needed to melt and pound the slugs flat.  A Navajo jewelry style evolved, typified by heavy silverwork hammered, bent and molded, either alone or sometimes around stones.

One early technique still used by Navajo silversmiths is making silver castings in sand or stone molds.  The artist carves a design into damp sand or tufa, a porous volcanic stone, and then secures a second flat stone on top to complete the mold.  Using a crucible, the artist then pours melted silver into the mold through a carved channel.  Air vents allow steam to escape, preventing air bubbles from forming in the cooling silver.

After the silver has cooled and hardened, the artist removes the piece from the mold.  Any silver not part of the overall design is cut off and the edges are filed smooth.  All surfaces of the jewelry are ground and polished.  Sometimes, artists add stones as a final accent.

Early Navajo jewelry emerged from blacksmithing techniques that required the heating and softening of metal interspersed with hammering to work the metal into desired shapes.  Great skill is required to balance these opposite forces.  Too much heating and hammering causes the piece to become “work-hardened” making it brittle and prone to cracking.  Too little force can lead to a poorly shaped piece with shallow, inconsistent design work.

After shaping the piece, the silversmith uses a graver or die stamps to inscribe designs into the metal.  Many artists create their own carved metal stamps to add design elements such as lines or swirls to their jewelry.  The artist places the designed end on the desired spot of the jewelry piece then strikes, stamping the design into the metal surface.  A good silversmith strikes the stamp evenly each time, producing a consistent design.

----Excerpt from A Guide To Indian Jewelry in the Southwest by Georgiana Kennedy Simpson

Opal and Gemstone
Reversible Butterfly
Sterling Pendant
By Navajo Jeweler
Fernando Benally

Side #2

This amazing Fernando Benally piece is a one of a kind reversible butterfly pendant. Set in heavy sterling you'll find beautiful pieces of lab made opal, natural gemstones and turquoise.

One side is blues and greens,  and the other, firey reds and oranges.

The sterling is full of Navajo symbolism with arrows for protection  and a path of life. The butterfly represents emergence into a new life and natural beauty.

Even the bail is carefully worked. The artist signed the piece on the bottom. It reads FBenally Sterling. The pendant measures 1 and 1/8 inches across and 1 abd 1/8 long including the bail.

The piece is 1/8 in. thick.

More about Fernando Benally.

This is a real treasure!

Price: $375

Contemporary Sterling Silver Sheep Pin
Navajo

(Front)

(Back)

This beautiful pin is from the well-respected Richardson's Trading Post in Gallup, NM. It was made by a Navajo woman artist. I do not have her name and the jewelry is not signed. But the seller is a respected trader so the information is accurate.

The artist makes her jewelry by winding fine Sterling Silver. The sheep pin weighs 10.7 grams on my scales... a nice heavy gage.

The pendant measures 2 and 1/4 inch wide by 2 and 1/4 inch tall. The pin clasp is a safety clasp. Very well made contemporary piece depicting a traditional subject.

Price: $165

Contemporary Sterling Silver Sheep Earrings

Beautiful hook earrings matching the above pin. The Navajo artist is not known to me, nor is the piece signed due to the Sterling wire work. The earrings measure 1 and 3/4 inches long including the hook.

Price: $75

Navajo Made Turquoise, Shell and Stone Necklace  

In the style of the Zuni Fetish carvings, we have carved turquoise and varied stone animals on a shell string. The centerpiece is a turquoise eagle carving. Silver hook clasp. Measures 27 inches. Quite a bargain!

Price: $24

Navajo Made Turquoise, Shell and Stone Earrings

In the style of the Zuni Fetish carvings, we have carved turquoise and varied stone animals on dangling earrings. Silver hooks. The centerpiece is a turquoise eagle carving. Measures 1 inch long not including the hooks. Quite a bargain!

Price: $16

   

        Navajo Concha Earrings

This is an amazing pair of earrings for pierced ears. The silversmith carefully replicated the conchas from a belt on these long earrings. Sterling Silver and turquoise. Exquisitely hand made. Light weight so they don't pull on your ears. Fine workmanship. Each concha is linked to the next so the earrings move and dangle. They measure close to 2.5 inches long. Signed by the artist T. Charlie Sterling. Amazing and unusual work.

Price: $190
Navajo Earrings
Tim Yazzie

When is old new and new old? Well, Tim Yazzie's beautifully made Sterling jewelry is made in the old style with a modern twist. His Sterling Silver creations are fairly light yet are made of quality sterling which is then burnished for an antiqued look. In selected pieces he has added turquoise or Spiney Oyster. This style is all the rage now!

Tim Yazzie is a master silversmith from Gallup, New Mexico which I where I recently purchased these beautiful pieces.

These amazing butterfly earrings are 1.5 inches long. They are set with turquoise.  They are post earrings. The bottom part dangles from the top flower design.  The butterflies are 1 and 1/4 inches across at the top and are three dimensional. Mr. Yazzie has punched out the smaller wing so that it is raised. These would go well with the Butterfly Pin/Pendant below. Exquisite workmanship!

They are signed T. Yazzie - Sterling on the back.

A quality pair of Navajo made earrings.

Price: $112


These amazing butterfly earrings are 1.5 inches long including the hooks. They are set with turquoise.  They are post earrings. The butterflies are over 1 and 1/4 inches across at the top and are three dimensional. Mr. Yazzie has punched out the smaller wing so that it is raised. These would go well with the Butterfly Pin/Pendant below. Exquisite workmanship!

They are signed T. Yazzie - Sterling on the back.

A quality pair of Navajo made earrings.

Price: $100


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