Charming Turquoise Jewelry Washington DC

The Charm of Turquoise Jewelry

It would be difficult to find a lady’s jewelry wardrobe that does not contain at least one sterling silver turquoise pendant or some other piece of jewelry that is designed around turquoise. And if you are in the West, you should also expect to see a turquoise bolo tie or a pair of turquoise cuff links as part of a man’s wardrobe! Turquoise has always had a special place in the culture, fashion, and folklore of the American Southwest. The ties with the Native Americans in the southwest go back at least a millennium! Turquoise was found in Cerrillos near Santa Fe. Historic records show that tribes in this area were trading turquoise with Mexicans some six hundred miles away! In addition to being a beautiful stone, early Americans also believed in the mystical and spiritual powers of this stone. They believed that this joined together the heavens and earth, and was a symbol of male and female powers and energies. Warriors wore turquoise into battle because they believed that it protected them in war. This special relationship with turquoise was by no means restricted to the Southwest. In the big picture in fact, America is a relative new comer to the world of turquoise. Ancient civilizations including the Egyptians, Aztecs and the Incas all had a deep regard for turquoise. The Egyptians in particular who discovered the stone nearly six thousand years ago associated it with the Goddess Hathor and the Sun God Ra. New Age believers claim that turquoise has a calming effect and helps soothe frayed emotions and tempers.



While Native American tribes strung together chunks of turquoise to form crude jewelry several centuries ago, Southwestern jewelry as an artform truly received a strong impetus with the advent of the Europeans. The Europeans brought with them silver and techniques to work with silver. Native artists soon mastered the art of creating superb silver settings, and using these settings to frame local precious and semi-precious stones. Of all the various styles of Southwestern jewelry, none is more famous or more popular than silver jewelry with turquoise inlay. Creating the intricate setting and then working with individual pieces of stone to complete the piece requires a great deal of skill, something that is passed on from generation to generation. Some of the current trends in fashion jewelry include adding turquoise accent beads to cultured pearl necklaces or alternating turquoise and red coral beads in a flexible bangle bracelet.

Dale lives and plays in the Southwestern US. He is a geo-professional and enjoys the outdoors for most of the year. In his spare time, he is a fashion jewelry buff.

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