Vintage Ernest Benally Bracelet With Inlay

While most people easily recognize a big silver and turquoise bracelet as being Navajo-made, Diné jewelry designs are far more diverse and complex.

Take this colorful bracelet, for example. Much more than turquoise & silver, Navajo jeweler Ernest Benally created this vintage silver and multi-stone inlay bracelet using fine pieces of turquoise, coral, mother of pearl, jet, and silver. Benally set a yei face in the front center of his cuff surrounded on either side by bars of flush inlay, each a single stone, and some inset with a tiny silver circle. The result is a vibrant and symmetrical piece of one-of-a-kind, handmade Navajo jewelry. 

Benally's inlay sits 1/4" up above the wrist for a little bit of height and extra wow. It measures 5 1/8" inside with a 1 1/8" opening and a 3/4" width. The piece is hallmarked on the inside "E. Benally" with a hogan stamp.

The bracelet was collected in the 1990's by a married couple, who spent more than five decades joyfully traveling the American Southwest, meeting Native American artists and purchasing their works. Each of the pieces they collected, including this bracelet, are symbols of their life-long love of Native art and each other.