Native American Sterling Silver Medium Bear Paw Turquoise Jewelry Set EE04PE06

This medium Bear Paw Turquoise Jewelry set includes earrings and a pendant. Both are solid sterling silver, set with genuine Turquoise Stones and are Native American crafted by Navajo artist Sandra Parker Johnson. The loop dangle Turquoise Earrings measure 7/8" long from the top of the bale to the bottom of the Turquoise Earring and 1 and 5/16" from the top of the loop to the bottom of the earring. The small Bear Paw pendant measures 7/8” long including bale and 1/2" wide and includes an 18” sterling plated chain.

Turquoise jewelry has a long history dating back thousands of years. The name turquoise probably came from the French word pierre tourques meaning Turkish stone as turquoise was traded to Europe from Persia through present day Turkey. Another possibility is that the name came from the French description of the gemstone pierre turquin meaning dark blue stone. Today, the United States is the largest producer of turquoise especially in Arizona and Nevada.

The use of turquoise by Native Americans began about 1000 years ago when turquoise was found in Mount Chalchihuitl in present day New Mexico. While turquoise was used for centuries by the ancient Pueblo peoples, the silver-and-turquoise jewelry style known today was developed by Navajo artists in the late 1800’s. Pueblo and Navajo artists continue to use turquoise in traditional and modern turquoise jewelry including many animal based themes.