About Zuni turquoise jewelry and fetishes

The Zuni Pueblo is located in New Mexico just outside of Gallup.  They are known for their delicate, intricate work with stones.  They spend hours cutting down stones into small needlepoint and “petit point” shapes as well as doing inlay and channel inlay work.

Inlay describes a technique where pieces of stone or shell are precisely cut to fit into channels in the silver.  Inlay work can be divided into three general categories, regular or flat inlay, raised or domed inlay or etched inlay.

Needlepoint is very small, slender stones shaped to a point on each end.

Cluster work refers to jewelry where four or more stones are grouped together into one particular area of the piece.

Most of the turquoise used in Zuni work is from the Sleeping Beauty mine or the Kingman Mine in Arizona.  Many of the Zuni pieces are interchangeable and can be used as either pins or pendants. 

The Zunis are also well known for their fetish necklaces containing spiritual animals such as bears, turtles, wolves, foxes and others.  They are believed to bring the wearer strength, healing and to guide one to a better life.