Zuni Thunderbird In Lay Key Ring

Intricately inlaid Zuni Thunderbird Key Ring featuring turquoise, mother of pearl, jet and coral.

Turquoise: Probably no other stone or color symbolizes the southwestern mystique better than Turquoise. This stone has been used by Native Americans in the southwest since around 200BC. Some of the first items fashioned out of turquoise were beads and figurines with the incorporation of silver coming in the late 1800's. Turquoise is found in semi arid copper deposits and is formed when groundwater percolates through aluminous rock in the presence of copper. It is the copper that lends turquoise its greenish-blue hues. Turquoise symbolizes good fortune or luck to the Southwestern Native Americans.