Hand Made Indian Jewelry: Essence of the Earth
Hand made Indian jewelry is known for its simplicity and its natural beauty. Hand made Indian jewelry captures the essence of the Earth in a poignant, arresting way that is at once fanciful and realistic. Native Americans wore hand made Indian jewelry to show status, rank, wealth, and social standing.
The mass production of Indian (Native American) jewelry has cheapened its value. Mass produced Indian jewelry does not have the value of a piece of hand made Indian jewelry that has been created entirely from scratch. There is nothing like an original piece of hand made Indian jewelry. Hand made Indian jewelry has a unique appearance that factory-made Indian jewelry can never attain. The effort put into a piece of hand made Indian jewelry is what gives the item its value.
There is an ongoing debate over the issue of hand made Indian jewelry and handcrafted Indian jewelry. Some people say that the terms “hand made” and “handcrafted” mean the same thing. Others say that hand made Indian jewelry refers to jewelry you created completely yourself, while handcrafted Indian jewelry refers to jewelry you put together from pre-designed pieces. Both of the above opinions are valid, but a piece of hand made Indian jewelry that has been made completely by hand has a greater charm than Indian jewelry that has been assembled from prefabricated parts.
Among the many distinctive pieces of hand made Indian jewelry are arrowhead necklaces and turquoise jewelry. Arrowhead necklaces consist of an arrow-shaped stone attached to a cord. The stone may be hand-cut or pre-cut. Some of the stones used in arrowhead necklaces include agate, jasper, aventurine, obsidian, lapis, quartz, onyx, amethyst, and unakite. This particular piece of hand made Indian jewelry may have rough edges like those of an authentic Indian arrowhead, or be smooth-edged instead. This piece of hand made Indian jewelry can also be made of bone.
Turquoise was one of the most highly prized stones in the history of hand made Indian jewelry. Legend says that the “Sky Stone” was created when the Indians wept tears of joy at the rainfall. Their tears mixed with the rain in the earth and formed the beautiful blue turquoise gem. Turquoise also comes in different shades of green, and may have fine lines of brown, gray or black in its matrix. Turquoise is used in many forms of hand made Indian jewelry, including rings, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.