Vintage Petit Point 4 row bracelet

Vintage 1970's 4-row bracelet. Handcrafted by a Zuni artist in the petit point style with 60 individually hand cut stones. Lone Mountain turquoise and set in solid sterling silver. Measuring approximately 1 1/4" in width this is a medium sized bracelet. Traditional Zuni style with a vintage flair.

Zuni Jewelry Combining many stones into one piece makes some of the most beautiful and exciting Native American jewelry. Depending on how the stones are cut, this style of combining stones can be called Cluster-Work, Needle Point, Petit Point and Snake Eyes. These four styles emerged in the early 1920’s-1940’s and are primarily made by the Zuni Tribe, although some Navajos will make similar designs. These styles have a feminine quality to them, as the stones are set in small and elegant settings. These designs are very tedious as each bezel (the silver holding the stone) is individually shaped and solder. Then the stones are cut, glued to matchsticks, then shaped and polished with a series of grinding wheel.