Navajo White Buffalo with Turquoise Inlay Sterling Silver Pendant by GP

Navajo White Buffalo with Turquoise Inlay Sterling Silver Pendant by GP

About:
The only place in the world where white buffalo turquoise is found is in Tonopah, Nevada and was first discovered in Tonipah’s Dry Creek Mine in 1993.
This beautiful white stone is not actually turquoise but rather a dolomite stone. Blue turquoise grows in copper mines and therefore develops its blue-green color whereas white buffalo grows next to magnesium that bleaches the stone’s pigment but its black spider webbing pattern is reminiscent to that of blue turquoise.
White buffalo turquoise is a symbol of Native American culture and is one of the rarest stones on the market. Also known as sacred white buffalo, this precious black and white stone is found frequently in Native American jewelry.

Native American History:
The production of Native American jewelry began thousands of years ago with stones, bones, coral, and shells. Natives turned these materials into wearable jewelry and traded them for other goods between tribes.
Jewelry was also a marker of status within Native American communities. Individuals of the ruling or elite class typically wore more elaborate pieces to indicate their significant place in society.
Native Americans even carved tiny beads out of shells and bones to wear as necklaces or bracelets, similar to the ones we wear today.
They wore pendants on leather strings, rings, and earrings from materials in their surrounding environment.
Much of the jewelry that is on the market today has been influenced by these early jewelry makers.