Derrick Gordon – Navajo Silversmith & Blue Turquoise Artisan

About Derrick Gordon

Derrick Gordon was born in 1971 in Gallup, New Mexico, and raised in Sanders, Arizona. He was taught to silversmith by his uncle, Delbert T. Gordon, beginning in 1990, and has spent the decades since steadily refining his stamp work and taking on increasingly larger, more ambitious pieces.

What makes Derrick's process especially distinctive is his approach to design: he never draws out his patterns beforehand. Instead, he works the way earlier generations of silversmiths did, letting the piece take shape intuitively as he goes, often dreaming up a design while simply looking at the stone he plans to set. He has a particular love for high-grade natural turquoise, especially blue turquoise, and uses handmade tools and stamps to create intricate patterns and swirls that make each finished piece genuinely one-of-a-kind.

Beyond jewelry, Derrick is also a carpenter, a mechanic, and a musician, and he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family. He married his wife Ernestine in 1995, and the couple have five children together: Danielle, Chanelle, Adrienne, Derrick Jr., and Matthew. Derrick places real importance on passing down his Diné language to his children, and he's also teaching his two sons his musical skills, reflecting a broader commitment to keeping family and cultural continuity central to his life alongside his jewelry career.

Identifying Derrick Gordon's Work

His hallmark is simply Derrick, stamped directly onto his finished pieces.

Style & Materials

Derrick's intuitive, no-sketch design process combined with his preference for high-grade natural blue turquoise results in modernized Navajo-style jewelry that still carries the spontaneity and individuality of older, freehand silversmithing traditions.

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Explore our collection of vintage Native American turquoise and silver jewelry, including intricately stamped Navajo-style pieces.