Description

Navajo Sterling silver cuff bracelet with inlaid turquoise and sugilite stones and stamping at ends.

Bracelet measures 1cm wide with stone section 0.4cm wide.  Inside diameter is 6cm (small) and opening at back is 2.8cm wide. This bracelet is NOT adjustable.

Handmade and signed by Navajo artisan Patrick and Laura Lincoln.  Artisans maker mark inside.

Caution: Stone inlay bracelets are generally not adjustable – attempting to change the size or shape of an inlay bracelet will likely result in loose or lost stone pieces.

Only 1 piece available.

The Navajo Nation is one of the largest Southwest Native American tribes and is world-renown for their silver and turquoise jewellery. Navajo Indian jewellery is often characterised by chunky stones set in simple sterling silver bezels. The most popular stone among Navajo Indian artists is turquoise.

To the Navajo tribe, the colour turquoise represents happiness, luck, and health and carries religious significance. However, other gemstones like spiny oyster and coral are also featured in Navajo Indian jewellery.

Some Navajo Indian jewellery is purely sterling silver without stones. These pieces are generally hand-stamped or sandcast, although the Hopi Indian influence is evident in pieces that use the overlay technique to add depth. Some artists use oxidised silver to accent a design by amplifying depth while others brush their pieces to give them a vintage look.

Silver-smithing was first introduced to the Navajos by the Spaniards in the seventeenth century. The varied styles of some of the most prominent Navajo Indian jewellery artists reflect the mastery of techniques refined over hundreds of years and the influence of neighbouring cultures.