Belt Buckles

Native American Belt Buckles

History

Native American belt buckles were probably introduced through the use of Concho belts, as the fasteners of these belts. Native Americans did not commonly use belts fastened with what we now call belt buckles. Navajo silversmiths used silver which was more available to them for most of their jewelry. One must be careful as sometimes nickel (confusingly now labeled as nickel silver or German silver) can be used as the back of a buckle, greatly reducing the use of the more costly sterling silver. The buckles from Silver & Turquoise Native American Jewelers, LLC are 100% sterling silver, fully handcrafted and made entirely in the USA.

Navajos liked to adorn their silverwork with stamping; therefore the earliest of the Navajo belt buckles were all silver. Since the earliest silversmiths did not do much in the way of soldering, these early belt buckles had a slot with a center bar cut into each Concho. The leather belt was threaded through these slots, which also anchored them into place. At a later time the silversmiths started adding stones and soldered loops and hooks on the backs for the leather to connect to the buckle. Distinctive belt buckle designs are made by the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and the various Rio Grande Pueblo tribes. Tribal differences of these various styled stone settings will be discussed below.

Stone Settings

All of the tribes do make all of these styles; however some tribes are most noted for particular styles. Navajos are the major producer of cabochon styles. Zuni Pueblo Indians are the major producer of the inlay, needlepoint and petit point type of jewelry.

Cabochons are more naturally shaped stones that use silver work as a major focus and use the stones to enhance that work. Needlepoint stones are cut to have sharp points on each end, like a needle, and are placed in a designed shape or shapes of silver bezels. Petit point stones are cut and are smaller round, oval, rectangle, triangle, and pear shaped or even small squares called chicklets, placed in a designed shape or shapes of bezels. Channel inlay has dividers between the stones of thin slivers of sterling silver. Stone on stone inlay has no silver dividers and the stones are fitted to sit next to each other with little or no gap. These stones might be turquoise, or other semi-precious stones, or mixtures of these stones. All of these stone styles are commonly made in the modern Indian handcrafted buckles.

Our Promise

Offering sterling silver Native American jewelry handcrafted in the USA is the fundamental “business mantra” of Silver & Turquoise Native American Jewelers, LLC. Imported or imitation jewelry of any kind is not what we sell. No matter the style or styles of these expertly handcrafted pieces of wearable art, you can be assured complete satisfaction. Individually made, one at a time, each piece to be cherished and worn proudly.