Squash Blossom Necklace – Representative of Modified Native Jewelry

The western jewelry forms have treasures of artistic designs, with a long history to their credits. Some of the admirable jewelry designs are available in the category of Native American jewelry, which has not lost its excellence even after coming from a traditional background. You are certainly going to be impressed with the squash blossom necklace, a popular component of this jewelry form. Though, its origin is not purely based upon art traditions of tribal artists, it is considered as the symbol of modified tribal jewelry designing art.

History of Squash Blossom Necklace

The squash blossom necklace was designed with the arrival of artists from European countries like Spain to America. The skilled jewelry artists from most popular tribe of Native America, Navajo, learnt a number of skills from European artists. They became silversmiths and got impressed with ‘naja’, a Spanish jewel with crescent shape and finally, gave birth to this beautiful necklace. Though, initial necklaces were designed from silver, turquoise necklace was invented in the 19th century. The Zuni artists devised an inlay design using this mineral to further enhance the beauty of these necklaces.

What’s in the Name

The secret behind the name of this necklace is still unknown to the Native American jewelry designers and wearers. There is no mention of this name in Navajo or Zuni culture. Some people consider its derivation from languages including Spanish, English and a native language. Others consider the shape of beads as the reason behind this name. Whatever the mystery might be; the jewelry lovers are in great love with this piece of western jewelry style.

Purchasing Squash Blossom Necklace

Some people might refer the popular trade, called dead pawn, for purchasing these silver or turquoise necklace designs. The majority of products sold here were either robbed and sold on this shop, or were mortgaged here by poor jewelry owners. However, you might not favor the idea of purchasing the products collected in these unworthy manners. Moreover, it might not appear as a good idea to pay tribute to extremely talented Native American jewelry designers.

Instead of this, you can purchase these necklaces from stores like Red Hand Jewelry, facilitating original designs crafted by artists of Navajo or Zuni origins. By doing so, you can contribute towards popularizing the long-lived tradition of native western jewelry.