Navajo Indian Jewelry Gemstones

Executive Summary about Indian Jewelry By Clint Leung

One of the most popular art forms among the Southwest Indian tribes is jewelry. Navajo jewelry in particular, has the most prominent reputation among all Southwest Indian jewelry with pendants, bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings.

There are some regularly used gemstones found in Navajo and other Southwest Indian jewelry including turquoise, hematite, jasper, malachite, aventurine, amethyst and rhodonite. This article gives a brief description as well as the Southwest Indian spiritual significances behind each gemstone.

Of course, blue color turquoise is probably the most common gemstone used in Navajo and other Southwest Indian jewelry. Hematite is a metallic gray color stone. The brownish red jasper stone is considered nurturing and protects against negativity. Jasper also promotes healing to the kidneys, liver, spleen and bladder.

Malachite, which comes in dark greens, clarifies emotions, removes obstructions and facilitates insights. This gemstone also represents fidelity and loyalty. Adventurine, which comes in light greens, boosts tranquility and releases anxiety or fear. It is a stone that promotes decisiveness and leadership.

The purple color amethyst aids intuition, conducts peaceful energy and interestingly enough, encourages freedom from addictions. Finally, rhodonite, which is a rose color stone with black and brown specs promotes positive thinking. A silver background certainly makes the gemstone really stand out in Southwest Indian jewelry piece. As with other forms of jewelry, it is highly recommended to purchase Navajo and other Southwest Indian jewelry only from reputable sources in order to ensure authenticity.

Variation of Indian Jewelry According to the Region

Executive Summary about Indian Jewelry By Nikhil Jain

Jewelry is what India is famous for. It was not only in the older ages that we were known for our jewelries but even today there is no comparison between Indian jewelry and any other jewelry around the world. But even in India the jewelry is not same throughout the country but it is varying. It varies according to region. It varies according to the language they speak. It varies according to the regional customs. It varies according to the culture. Jewelry making is not any kind of manufacturing. You cannot produce it on a large scale. It needs time and it needs patience. No institute can teach you how to make jewelry. They can teach you the theory but they cannot instill the quality, which is required for making jewelry.

This quality is possessed by an artist and like we say, either you are artist or you are not. This custom of making jewelry is passed on from generation to the generation of the artists or the karigars. Indian jewelry has seen many twists and turns. Today, the revival period is going on for the Indian culture, which is great. It is again being introduced into the market with different names and different brands. The comeback of Indian jewelry is hugely anticipated and is quite successful. Many world known brands are helping it to revive itself and like the phoenix they are again being born. Hence it is the right time to look into the details about the Indian jewelry and its culture. There are a number of regions, which specializes in producing it. Each region has its own design and aesthetic to show to the world.

These regions are as follow: Delhi: Delhi is new in terms of Indian jewelry. The Mughals brought the staring of making the jewelry in Delhi. They were very successful at that time. The best feature of jewelry in this part is the inspiration for it. Most of the jewelry works are inspired by the nature. They depict many of the natural things into the jewelry. The most common inspirations are flowers, leaves ambi, birds and vines. These look beautiful as well as they possesses that aroma which is keeping it alive. These jewelries are very delicate and ornate. These jewelries have very elaborate designs, which are a nice thing to see. The jewelry produced in this form generally employs Jadau work. Hence due to this these works go hand to hand. Rajasthan: there are a number of designs produced in the state. The first of them is Kundan Jadau. In this style the gemstones are embossed or encrusted. They are embossed in the Kundan; hence the name is Kundan jadau. Kundan is a semi opaque crystal. These works were also used in the period of the Mughal governments. Ø The second type of artistry is Meenakari. It is also a Rajasthani specialty. It is very famous for its works. It is an art of fusing or enameling metal. The fusing is done with other colored lacquers. These lacquers come into a number of colors. The last type of the designing feature of the Rajasthan is the theva. It is one of the uncommon arts. These had gone extinct due to lack of patronage. But time has changed and they are again being revised by the prominent Indian Designers.

In this type of art, enameling of gold is done on the glass. Since gold is yellow in color hence a number of other color foils are placed beneath the glass to produce the required contrast. The driving feature behind these is the preference of the artistry. No one can learn it easily. This feature makes it most appealing to the world.

Gujarat: Gujarat has always been the place of the businessmen. Its history has enough proof of this. The biggest advantage of this state is its nearness to the coast. Many different kinds of designs have been produced in the Gujarat. The color of this finish is dull red. It is very beautiful. This design has been in Gujarat for ages. It has seen many changes. It could be said to truly represent Gujarat. In this design feature, many semi precious stones and glasswork are held together with the help of tiny metal claws.

The most surprising thing is that the stones are totally uncut. It differs from the Kundan Jadau because in that process the stones used to be encrusted but in this feature they are not encrusted. It also produces most exquisite look. Jewelry produces under this design is hard to pass by. This design is not related to the gold but they are related to the diamonds. Bengal: Bengal has also been famous for its art and jewelry.

Basically two designs have come from Bengal, which is of the highest standard. Thin silver wires are twisted to produce desired look. These works are also done in Orissa.