Kingman Turquoise Inlay Earrings FJE2802

INLAY refers to the process of cutting and polishing turquoise, shell, and other traditional stones before combining them into patterns and embedding them with metal. Southwestern Native American artists are especially recognized for their skills in inlay jewelry.

There are several different techniques used in inlay design:

A "mosaic" inlay is when the stones are laid in the metal touching one another and are flush with the surface of the jewelry.

"Cobblestone" refers to the stones being uneven in height and size with beveled edges - closely resembling a cobblestone street.

Commonly seen, "channel" inlay indicates the use of metal spacers between the stone.

"Corn Row" inlay closely mimics the appearance of this harvested crop - neatly arranged parallel rows of stone with slightly rounded edges.

KINGMAN TURQUOISE is considered to be one of the classic and more easily recognizable American Turquoises, Kingman Turquoise was first mined by Native Americans as early as 600 A.D. This Arizona turquoise rose to fame due to its production of nuggets - which few mines produce. Waterweb Kingman is high-grade stone with a tight, beautiful matrix and is highly prized and sought after by collectors worldwide.