Where It's At…And What It Costs

Where It's At... And What It Costs The Jewelry Marketplace Today

Saks New York office suggested that people back East aren't buying Indian jewelry any more," laughed Henrietta Robinson of the Phoenix Saks Fifth Avenue fine jewelry department. "I tell them that's right! People aren't buying it back East. They're buying it out here and going back East and wearing it!"

Throughout the Southwest, the Indian jewelry boom of the 70s which spread throughout the country, has left its mark. Things were crazy then, dealers recall, but today, they all say, the market is in better shape.

Joe Tanner, of Tanners Indian Arts in Gallup, New Mexico, Scottsdale, Arizona, and La Jolla, California, pointed out, "The Indian jewelry market isn't what it was in 1974. Now the buyers who are purchasing fine Indian jewelry are sophisticated. They could just as easily be buying from Tiffany's. They are buying these pieces as art. While in 1974 we virtually could sell anything that was Indian made, today's buyers expect a masterpiece." He paused and grinned, "And we are able to sell every masterpiece that we can get our hands on."

What's happened since AHM published its now famous January, 1974, "Turquoise Issue"? So much that it's difficult to know where to begin. New styles and superb quality, gold and diamonds and precious gems imagination and creativity cut loose from purely traditional forms. It's also exciting, wild, and fun. What's happened? As one artist confided, "We've gotten off our blankets and found a whole new world of high fashion."

People intimately involved with Indian jewelry credit the mid-70s fascination for much of this aftermath. Prior to 1974, traditional Indian jewelry was prized by a select group of serious collectors. Then turquoise fever swept the country: J.C. Penney furnished their fine jewelry departments coast-to-coast with Indian-made pieces from Armand Ortega, who owns the Indian Ruins Trading Post at Sanders, Arizona, as well as half a dozen shops in several other states. Saks Fifth Avenue in Phoenix and numerous select galleries around the country, turned to the high-quality work originating from Edmund Marshall's AURA, Inc., in Tempe, Arizona. The word was out, and America loved it!

There were exceptions, of course, to the genuine Indian handmade work that was being done. At the peak of the rush, turquoise and silver were everywhere in great profusion the good, the bad, and the ugly spread out in everything from elegant shops, to museums, to car washes. Mark Bahti, whose family-owned Tom Bahti Shop is a (Above MV-153) Tribute to the triumph of timelessness ... the monuments march across the valley floor, carving an angular landscape out of the horizon.

(Opposite page IJ-170) Estevan B. Garcia, Mescalaro Apache, tops a chunk of Persian turquoise with a show-stopping 3.108 ct. bluewhite diamond all wrapped in a delicately worked golden necklace. Courtesy of Armand Ortega's Indian Ruins Collection, Sanders, Arizona.

Tucson landmark, summed up those years. "Quality went down and prices went up. But in the long run benefits occurred. Most people were introduced to Indian crafts and jewelry and some frauds were brought to light. Today, much of the poor quality has been weeded out, and the market for fine, traditional jewelry is strong."

Clay Locket, long-time affiliate of the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, concurred. "During the boom, lots of silversmiths made very bad jewelry and got ferocious prices for it. Now the buyers are insisting on better quality."

Pat Houlihan, director of Phoenix' Heard Museum, echoed the same thoughts, "The workmanship today is not like it was in the old days. It's better!"

Today's new Indian jewelry often is made of gold. Henrietta Robinson, of Saks, said, "Gold outsells silver in Indian jewelry three to one." And Dennis June, of McGee's Indian Den in Scottsdale, suggested why this is true. "When it comes to jewelry, the whole world was on the gold standard while we, in the Southwest, were on the silver standard. People had to adjust to step down to silver during the Indian jewelry craze, so it's naturally easier today to step back up to gold. wear this look than their own diamonds. This jewelry is a combination of beautiful design and good investment."

But is Indian jewelry an investment? Dealers insist that jewelry is more an emotional than financial decision. People see a necklace as a chance to say "This is me." Yet Lovena Ohl, of the Lovena Ohl Gallery in Scottsdale, takes exception. Mrs. Ohl, whose years of experience qualify her as one of the nation's experts, insists, "I do see fine Indian jewelry as a hedge against inflation. If you buy something fine, through the years it will increase in value. When you buy good art, it is quality you are buying... it's not a bargain. Some day to get a Loloma or a Larry Golsh piece will be like trying to find a fine piece of Faberge."

Why has the emotional appeal of jewelry remained so strong throughout the centuries? John Adair, a noted anthropologist who wrote a definitive book in 1945 on Navajo silversmithing, suggested, "People everywhere adorn themselves. Studying the designs in jewelry from ancient European times to contemporary American Indian motifs says to me that there is a basic kinship among peoples spiritually as well as physically. I call it a psychic unity of mankind."

"Styles! Sameness is out. People want an individual look."

Name artists! Charles Loloma and Preston Monongye forged new trails with their innovations. "Before Charles," Houlihan suggested, "everyone was afraid to venture beyond tribal styles. Loloma broke everything open as far as what an artist could do as a Hopi."

Quality! Rene Atlass, director of Sotheby Parke Bernet's fine jewelry department in Los Angeles, stated, "Loloma's pieces always do well here." He added that quality, however, is the key to fine jewelry and suggested, "Diamonds will never go down. If I were investing, I'd remember that gold fluctuates. Along with diamonds, realize that rubies, sapphires and other colored stones are the coming thing."

Color! Henrietta Robinson of Saks called it the Southwestern color-combination look. "Women would rather Still, as more precious materials are increasingly used, to experience "psychic unity" is becoming ever more expensive. Today, a single piece of magnificent new Indian jewelry can command several thousand dollars. A low-priced silver necklace or bracelet usually begins in the $200 or $300 bracket, and a fine piece of gold jewelry generally hovers around $1000. Yet the "investment" aspect remains clouded by uncertainty. Dennis June, of McGee's, offered, "My own investment is in jewelry. But I handle it every day. Remember, if you only buy jewelry from a retailer, you won't realize a return for your investment. . . . That's where the investment fallacy comes in. You must know where and when and how to market jewelry in order to earn that return." He prefers to sell pleasure and pride of ownership - both of which the new Indian jewelry inspires in abundance.

(NM-182) Set against a background photo of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Larry Golsh, Pala Mission, allows his Nevada blue turquoise-studded bracelet (left IJ-171) to effortlessly bridge the generations. "I feel there is a strong vein of art in the Indian culture. At some point, because of the isolation they lived with, the Indian people developed a good feeling about themselves and the earth and the sky. They became harmonious with the earth." Courtesy Lovena Ohl Gallery, Scottsdale.

(Right IJ-172) A glittering profusion of gold and precious jewels created in the unique, almost classical-contemporary style of Boyd Tsosie. Courtesy Hukahee Fine Arts, Scottsdale.

But the ethnic appeal of the pieces cannot be denied, either. Lee Yazzie, whose magnificent lapidary inlays draw raves from his fellow artists, calls his style “a striving for simplicity with unity.” Even when more elaborate, the new designs speak eloquently of a time of pure form, a harmony of stones and metals, a cohesive system of thought, design, and detail. Highly individual, the new Indian jewelry is indebted to its ancient past. Just as the culture reveres the wisdom of the tribal elders, the new Indian jewelry respects the rich traditions of silver and turquoise.

The contemporary approach also demands some new showcases. Museums, once the established avenues for recognition, continue to sponsor shows. But Pat Houlihan, of the Heard, suggested that the museum's role is changing as commercial galleries grow stronger and artists become more sophisticated. Yet, he observed, “A museum legitimizes an art form. In addition to the traditional roles of collecting, display, etc., a museum elevates an Indian artist's work far beyond that of a commercial showcase. Our society, through its museums, declares that this is what should outlast us. Thus the museum becomes an integral part of the marketplace, for society then says, 'this is an art form.'” And society continues to enjoy the shows. The annual Heard Museum Guild show brings name and unknown artists to vie for prizes in gold and silver, traditional and contemporary jewelry. The Santa Fe Indian Market and Gallop Ceremonial also remain important avenues for creators and collectors. Commercially and artistically, these shows continue to prove their worth.

Looking back over the decade of the 70s, those early years already are legendary. The craziness of the time when turquoise fever was at its height may never again be felt. Fashions change and today the withit man or woman sports a half-dozen gold chains guarding the throat. In a year or so, these chains may be packed away, replaced by a newer, more current look, but gold will still be precious. Its beauty will remain unrivaled.

So it is with the lasting elegance of superb contemporary Indian jewelry. The traditional appeal of turquoise and silver, coral, and heishe will always find its audience.

All that is certain in the fickle fashion climate is change. New names will gain stature, new combinations of color and texture may dominate. But the strength and pure appeal of fine contemporary Indian jewelry will endure. As Byron Hunter, manager and buyer for the Heard Museum Shop explained, “If it's been a fad, it's been one for 6000 years.”