Of Turquoise and Talismans

Americans tend to think turquoise jewelry originated here, influenced by the Navajo jewelry craze that swept the country in the 1950s – 1970s. While Native American silversmiths have contributed significantly to the American Jewelry Tradition, turquoise has been used for centuries by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Persians, and Aztecs.

Turquoise was believed to have significant spiritual and monetary value, and was used in ceremonies and as a mark of high rank by kings and priests in those cultures. It comes in a gorgeous range of colors from medium blue to greenish blue, sometimes semi-translucent and sometimes completely opaque, sometimes completely clear, but often mottled. A gemologist can often tell you where a piece of turquoise originated just by looking at its coloring.

In the Americas, archeologists have found evidence of native peoples creating jewelry from stones, shells, and other natural materials going back as far as 10,000 years ago. In the American Southwest, where heavy concentrations of turquoise are found, tribes in those areas began creating distinctive turquoise looks long before Europeans made it to the continent.

In the 11th century, turquoise found its way to Europe through the Turkish trade routes, and it became fashionable quite fashionable, but its popularity waned some time before the 1800s. Then, during the latter part of the Victorian era, it became very popular again, largely because Queen Victoria herself loved turquoise so much. In the Victorian era, it was common to make jewelry with tiny, pave-set turquoise cabochons covering the surface of jewels, creating a shimmering snake motif.

In the early 1900s, as tourists visited the Grand Canyon and discovered Navajo turquoise jewelry, those styles were brought back to every corner of the world, and turquoise jewelry enjoyed another wave of popularity. Unfortunately, that led to a lot of “fake” Native American turquoise jewelry being produced, but the 1935 Indian Arts and Crafts Act made it illegal to falsely identify goods as being Native American made.

Turquoise is most often set with sterling silver, though you will sometimes find it set in gold. Ginger comes across some gorgeous turquoise pieces in her jewelry-hunting travels. Wander through our catalog or come into the store and look in the cases, and see if you can identify the different design influences and eras in our turquoise jewelry!