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Orvil Jack turqruoise is a brilliant lime green colored turquoise, which is unique in all the world of turquoise. Orvil Jack turquoise is named for a  man who began mining in Nevada back in 1956. Orvil Jack moved his family to Nevada and staked a few turquoise claims in the Crescent Vally of Lander County, Nevada. His wife Bessie and daughter Grace helped him in those early days. At first they were only concerned with the blue spider-web turquoise. Lime green Orvil Jack turquoise was not sought by the Jacks at that time. In the early days of the claim,...

A hallmark can be said to be the signature on Native American jewelry art. Hallmarks are important because they can allow Native American jewelry to be identified by artist. Just as the public recognizes the value of a signed painting or sculpture, hallmarks have come to be valued in the Native American jewelry field. Today it is very rare for Native American jewelry not to have the symbol of the artist. Though it has not always been the case, people now expect Native American jewelry to be marked. Some, like those in Zuni, will use "electric pencils" to sign their...

Pete Sierra is a Navajo artist who was a student of the famous Hopi artist Charles Loloma. Charles Loloma had hundreds of students, but Pete Sierra stands out among them. Pete Sierra was able to fashion something new with his silver inlay and high cobblestone turquoise jewelry. This was no small feat coming from the extraordinary amount of wonderful works that came from Charles Loloma. Yes, Pete certainly made  his teacher proud! To understand Pete Sierra, it perhaps is good to first look at Charles Loloma. Loloma came from a family of various types of Native American artists such as...

Navajo coral jewelry is highly prized. For the Navajo the four subterranean worlds are influenced by four precious metals:turquoise, white shell, red stone(yolici) and abalone. Yolici, "red pearls",is what the Navajo call coral. The coral is used by the Navajo primarily for ornamentation and not for ceremonies. Red is generally taboo in Navajo ceremonies, but the fact remains that Navajo coral jewelry is highly valued around the world, and among the Navajo. Marine coral includes several species. Coral looks like hardened tubes or branches. It is composed of hard calcium carbonate. The skeletons of coral form reefs in the Mediterranean...

Gibson Nez was a person who tried to do whatever he did well. Gibson Nez was a Jicarilla Apache-Navajo jeweler whose work was among the best in the world of Native American jewelry. Gibson Nez greatly  focused on whatever he was doing, and as we shall see excelled in more than one area. He was influenced by the best jewelers, and became one of them. He will long be and example in how to live life well. Gibson Nez was born May 16th, 1947. He became active as a silversmith in 1976 and worked at his art for three decades,...