Silver, Turquoise, and the Trading-Post Economy

Navajo silversmithing dates to the eighteen fifties, when a Diné man named Atsidi Sani learned metalworking from a Mexican craftsman and adapted it into a distinctly Navajo art form. By the eighteen eighties, when the railroad arrived at Gallup, traders were already shipping Navajo silver and turquoise jewelry to eastern markets. The heavy concho belt, the squash-blossom necklace, and the cast sandcast bracelet became iconic American design forms that Diné artists made their own.

Zuni jewelers developed a separate tradition of precise inlay and channel work that is equally recognized. Both traditions are sold in the shops and pawnshops of downtown Gallup today, ranging from mass-produced tourist pieces to works by master artists whose names appear in major museum collections. Knowing the difference matters: look for a hallmark stamp and ask the seller to name the maker.