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Indian jewelry has and will most likely continue to be an industry where the local jeweler will usually have their equipment in a room of their home, such as the kitchen or a workroom. At its very best, Indian jewelry is exclusively, all hand-made with no two pieces of art being exactly the same. Nor would one want it to be any other way. Few collectors would want to acquire the same item that 50 other people had also obtained. This is a large and can be a lucrative trade for some talented individuals. However, there are of course, lesser quality versions or copies of unique pieces from the designs of real Indian pieces that have been reproduced in factories both here in the United States and, more and more abroad. These fakes are more increasingly found beside truly, authentic, Indian hand-made pieces of jewelry and other types of native art. Non-authentic pieces can sometimes be spotted by the fact that they may be virtually identical to each other. Another tale-tale sign is the nature of the stonework, if it has any. The stones, including so-called "turquoise", may appear to be completely uniform. Uniformity in nature rarely occurs and minor variations with each stone should be looked for. Now, of course there is nothing illegal in the manufacture and sale of such items, however, it is illegal to suggest or even represent it as authentic Indian jewelry. The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) and the Indian Arts and Crafts Association (IACA) encourage the trade of authentic Indian jewelry to be self-policing. These organizations attempt to ensure that the customer is aware of the authenticity of the item that that individual is about to purchase. There are several categories of native Indian jewelry and objects of art. The first category, and obviously most desirable to obtain, is labeled Indian handmade. This means that essentially no part of the piece is made by any means other than by the hands of the maker. While several artisans hand-roll their sheets from silver ingots, most now buy sheet silver from jewelry wholesale supply houses.
An additional category is Indian made, Indian constructed or Indian assembled. This is where the artist purchases machine-made parts and then constructs or assembles the jewelry or piece of art. An example would be purchasing the parts of a ring such as a preformed bezel with a stone already cut to fit the bezel. The piece can be slightly modified to look a little different from other pieces or the pieces are simply assembled and polished by the jeweler. Each of these types of pieces will look identical to each other. Much of this type of “Indian made, Indian constructed or Indian assembled” material is often encountered in numerous places including street sales, in town plazas, such as the Santa Fe Plaza, and in many of the roadside stands and lastly at highway gas stops. But, of course, we should not make general statements without acknowledging that there are always exceptions to those generalizations. There is a wide variety of these types of pieces, which are called “findings”, and practically every traditional Indian jewelry style has been reproduced in findings at one time or another.
Findings can range from bracelets ready to be inlaid with stones to pieces cast by the lost-wax process in “nickel-silver”. Nickel-silver is an alloy (combination) of nickel, copper, and zinc. It is strange but “nickel-silver” does not contain any silver. This “nickel-silver” alloy is stronger than sterling silver, but looks just like it. For engraving to be done on such alloys, a thin silver plating must be laid down over the “nickel-silver”, this necessary since the nickel- silver itself is too hard to easily be engraved upon.
We must admit that there is nothing wrong with buying these findings, so long as the buyer isn't misled in to thinking it is more than it is. It is affordable and it does help to employ people in an area where jobs are not that plentiful. But it at best should be considered as a souvenir. These items will most likely not gain in value over the years as will many authentic, Indian handmade items.
When buying products that are Indian made, Indian constructed or Indian assembled you are entitled to the information that describes how the product was made, where the item was made and who made it. If a dealer cannot or will not supply you with that type of information then it is best not to take the chance that the item is authentic and not purchase it from that particular dealer. In terms of obtaining pieces from a catalog or online, such as here at Indian Sun, it is important to read the description of the item with extreme care. Writers may resort to subtle descriptions of the items which, although legal, does not may not always tell the potential buyer exactly what they may be buying. Let us look at an example of what an unscrupulous seller may use to describe an item to be sold from a catalog and printed adjacent to a photograph of a necklace of something that looks like silver and turquoise and made in a Southwestern style.
the finest veined turquoise from one Arizona's famed mines, which was mined for turquoise by Native Americans hundreds of years ago. Three large cabochons are handset into ornamental sterling silver bezels and hand polished to a mirror finish.
Let us examine this description carefully. First, notice that, while the copy describes Native Americans, the copy does not say the necklaces were made by Indians. Second, it does not say that the piece was handmade. This probably means that each and every part was not made by hand. Third, the copy does state that the cabochons were "handset" and "hand polished". These descriptions may give the casual reader the impression that this item is authentic. However, all that the copy states is that someone, somewhere, somehow constructed this piece. In all likelihood each one of these necklaces were constructed together from machine-cut cabochons and machine-made findings. In addition, if the turquoise were truly from a ‘famous” Arizona mine, then it probably would be of gem quality or at the very least a natural stone or mineral. And finally, even if the mineral or stone were of gem quality or natural, the catalog probably would have stated as much up front thereby increasing the value of the piece. So one can assume that it is not the mine's "finest," but most likely a much lower grade of turquoise.
But remember if you see a piece looks nice and is something that you would like to own, by all means buy it, but be certain that you are aware of what you are buying and the value of the piece that you are interested in purchasing.
In looking for the best Indian jewelry, there are several criteria to remember.
First, is how the piece is constructed. Is the piece solid and well put together? This will depend upon the type of jewelry that it is and the tribe that made it. Different tribes (and of course different individuals) will have different preferences toward the style used. Zuni jewelry will tend to be more delicate relative to the Navajo jewelry which tend to be constructed heavier. Second, look at the joints where different parts of the piece are put together. Are the joints soldered? And is the soldering visible? Third, one should examine the materials that were used in the construction of the piece. As mentioned before, if it is stated that the piece is made form silver then it should be made from solid silver and not from nickel-silver alloys.
Finally the design of the piece should reflect the quality and style that the piece represents. Is the design pleasant to the eye? Does the design suggest a fluidity of lines, where one line flows into another? Is the design concise with a minimum of unneeded clutter? Do the color combinations of the piece clash? And most of all do you find attractive?
To paraphrase the owner of a major gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one should know what one can afford and then purchase the very best that one can find within that price range.
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