"Southwest Native American Earrings" consists of silver and turquoise jewelry of the Navajo and Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest. Craftspeople from the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and Santo Domingo tribes have gained a world-wide reputation for their unique jewelry. In addition to the pieces fashioned by these people, many fine examples of jewelry are also created by members of other Indian tribes.
Southwestern Indians have worn jewelry made from pieces of shell, turquoise and other materials for centuries. The major characteristic of Navajo jewelry today is the emphasis on metal work. The Navajo jewelry is designed to fit the stones. Stamp work, leaves and feathers fashioned of silver are used to accent turquoise and other stones. Their jewelry is characterized by the making of round beads from turquoise, coral, shell and other materials which are strung together into strands for necklaces and earrings. The most common beads are called heishi. These are disks or tubes with a hole in the center. They are strung together to form a flexible strand and are often of graduated size. It is not uncommon to find pieces of coral or turquoise nuggets strung with the heishi, or simply strands of polished turquoise nuggets.
