Native American Genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Sterling Silver Belt Buckle by Emerson

Hand made by Navajo silversmith Jimmy Emerson. The genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise was specially selected for color and size then arranged in an artistic cluster with Sterling Silver 'Navajo Tear Drops' on a hand cut Sterling Silver buckle. Hand twisted Sterling wire and traditional hand stamped designs frame the Turquoise stones with a brilliant shine. This buckle is 3-1/2" wide by 2-1/2" tall with a 2" keeper on the back. Signed by the artist J E and stamped Sterling.

There are many legends about Turquoise; The Pima consider it to bring good fortune and strength and believe that it helps overcome illness. The Zuni believe that blue turquoise was male and of the sky and green turquoise was female and of the earth. Pueblo Indians thought that its color was stolen from the sky. In Hopi legend the lizard who travels between the above and the below, excretes turquoise and that the stone can hold back floods. The Apache felt that turquoise on a gun or bow made it shoot straight. The Navajo consider it as good fortune to wear and believe it could appease the Wind Spirit.

The Dine' (or Navajo) People are a unique group of American Indians still living the traditional way of life throughout the four corners region of the Southwestern United States. The Navajo people have returned to the original name, the Dine' (pronounced di-nay'h), given to them by their holy people. The Dine' land (aka Navajo reservation) on top of Oak Creek Canyon is the largest reservation established for the Dine', covering about 25,000 sq. miles of land, and is located in parts of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Navajo were the first of the southwestern Indians to produce metal jewelry. Around the mid-19th Century a Navajo Medicine Man, Atsidi Sani, convinced a Mexican blacksmith to teach him the art of working with metal. When the Navajo returned to their homeland in 1868 after their imprisonment at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, traders arrived in the area bringing silver coins with them. It was with these coins that the Navajo began to make silver jewelry.

We understand the true value and nature of hand crafted Indian art. And, we recognize it’s important to know that the artist is truly a member of a Native American tribe. So, to ensure you that this is the real deal, a Certificate of Authenticity has been included with this item.

CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC