Arnold Blackgoat

Arnold Blackgoat’s great grandfather was Moses Blackgoat.  He was the first silversmith in the Blackgoat family. Moses was from the Lupton area and started making jewelry in the early 1900s. The art of jewelry making has been passed down generation to generation. He started to silversmith at the age of eight, by helping his grandmother, Helen Blackgoat, his mother Jenny Blackgoat, and his well-known uncle, Carson Blackgoat. He is known for his precise free hand stamping, using only the highest grade stones and heavy gauge silver.

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Bennie Ration

Bennie Ration is a Navajo silversmith born in 1955 who learned the craft from his father at age eleven. Born on March 21, 1955, on the Canoncito Navajo reservation in New Mexico to John and Frances Ration. He started with copper before graduating to silver at age 16. After working as a graphic designer, he returned to silversmithing in 1978, combining his artistic skills to create detailed, three-dimensional pieces featuring Southwestern animals, kachina figures, and geometric patterns. His distinctive style reflects a strong cultural heritage and technical mastery, using high-grade turquoise and intricate silverwork.

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Bob Becenti

Robert Becenti (1949-2001) was born in Rehoboth, NM area of the Navajo Reservation. His mother, Bessie Becenti, was a well known weaver. Becenti was a realist and painting in the style of Jimmy Abeita. During the 1970's through the early 1980's, he was a regular award winner at the Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial. Becenti worked with the former Kiva Gallery in Gallup owned by the legendary Nell Guadagnoli. Guadagnoli promoted many Native artists and was for years the main source of Becenti paintings. The artist was also an accomplished silversmith and spent much of his time creating jewelry. He passed away at the age of 52.

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Burt Francisco

Burt Francisco is a contemporary Navajo silversmith who learned traditional techniques from his parents and became a master artisan. He began creating and selling silver and turquoise jewelry before he was 20 years old and continues to work from his studio in Canoncito, New Mexico. His work is characterized by his traditional Navajo skills and mastery of incorporating turquoise.

 

Calvin Desson

Navajo lapidary artist Calvin Desson is from the Lupton area on the Navajo Reservation. Calvin began making jewelry when he started working for the Yellowhorse Trading Post in Lupton, Arizona. He began working on his own in 2004. He is known for his patterns in inlay and micro-inlay. Calvin creates inlay scenes from what he knows: Life on the Navajo Reservation. Only the finest materials are used in his one of a kind jewelry.

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Charlie Johson

At the early age of 15 Charles Johnson began his apprenticeship in lapidary and silversmith work, under the tutorage of his parents, His mother was a fifth generation jeweler and his father a second. As Mr Johnson continued to learn his art, his skills developed to where at the age of 20 he was a full time silversmith. Then, while continuing his silverwork, he tried his hand at lapidary work. Although he began in the practice of traditional Navajo jewelry making, he eventually honed his creations, changing to a much more contemporary style. Mr Johnson then began to create a more "Western style" comprised of uniquely designed Petroglyphv (Anasazi drawings) work, on bracelets and belt buckles, which now comprise the majority of his work.

 

Chris Charley

Born in 1972 in Crown Point, New Mexico, Chris became fascinated with silversmithing while watching his uncle, Raymond King. At age eighteen, Chris began his own career as a silversmith, teaching himself the tools and techniques he observed his uncle use to craft his own award winning jewelry. A master of so many silver working and design styles now, Chris considers the more basic, traditional Navajo method of stamp work to be his favorite and finest skill. The stamped silver pieces he produces are crisp, refined and expressive. It is with these traditional designs and techniques that Chris feels most connected to his tribe cultural history - the “old ways”.

 

Dakota T. Willie

Born, raised on the Navajo reservation in the town of To’hajiilee, NM, Navajo artist Dakota Willie was taught to make jewelry by her father, RONNIE WILLIE. The willie name is known worldwide in the jewelry industry for their contemporary and edgy designs.

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Danny Clark

Danny Clark has been a silversmith for over forty years. Born in Klagetoh, AZ, he is the youngest of eight brothers and three sisters. Now residing in Gallup, New Mexico, Danny creates unique jewelry styles that have gained recognition and become highly sought after in the Southwest.

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Danny Henio

Danny Henio is recognized as a Navajo silversmith, with contemporary listings identifying his work explicitly. His work in sterling silver and turquoise is actively catalogued by Southwestern galleries and online retailers.

 

Don Lucas

Don Lucas is a renowned jewelry designer who has been designing southwestern jewelry for over 40 years demonstrating that the allure of the American Southwest comes to life in Southwestern Jewelry.Although Don Lucas has been designing southwestern jewelry for almost 40 years, the traditional designs of southwestern jewelry go back hundreds of years. The Don Lucas collection is renowned for beautiful designs and quality craftsmanship based on traditional southwestern styles.

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Don Platero

Don Platero specializes in contemporary and traditional designs. His work includes silver jewelry, dinnerware, server sets, wedding sets, and unique custom creations such as chopsticks, bridles and flatware. Flatware art has been very popular and is one of the earliest forms of Navajo silver. Don started silver smithing around the age of 10. He was taught by his father Dan Platero. Don uses the highest quality sterling, beautiful turquoise and a variety of techniques.

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Eddie Secatero Jr.

Eddie Secatero Jr. is a Navajo silversmith from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was taught the craft by his parents, Agnes and Eddie Secatero at a young age while also attending the To'hajiilee Community School. He creates jewelry full-time and is known for his work with materials like turquoise and spiny oyster..  

 

Ella Cowboy

Ella Cowboy is a Navajo artisan known for creating intricate Native American and tribal jewelry, often featuring detailed inlay work with turquoise, mother of pearl, and other stones. She is from Mentmore, New Mexico and learned her craft from relatives, a tradition for many Native American artists.

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Elvira Bill

Elvira Bill is a contemporary Navajo silversmith known for her heavy gauge silver jewelry with deep, defined stampwork and repoussé. She learned her craft from her parents, Emerson and Nora Tahe-Bill, and continues the tradition of creating bold, traditional-style silver jewelry, often following in her father's footsteps. In addition to being a silversmith, Elvira served for six years as an OR technician in the U.S. Army.

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Ella Peter

Ella Peter, Navajo silversmith was born April 2, 1943 in the Tsa-ya-toh area in New Mexico on the Navajo reservation. Ella Peter is a prominent Navajo silversmith raised in Mentmore New Mexico. She began learning jewelry making very early, as her father was a silversmith who taught her the crafts. Noteworthy, only men could practice silversmithing, at least before 1920s. Later, Navajo women proved to be talented silversmiths as well. By 1970 Ella Peter was already  an experienced master silversmith with her own views on design and with her own signature. Handcrafting her jewelry, Ella Peter uses sterling silver and traditional for Navajo silversmith turquoise stone. Also, she uses other multicolor natural stones – onyx, malachite, lapis lazuli and coral.

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Eula Wylie 

Eula Wylie is a Navajo (Diné) silversmith from Ganado, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. She’s known for classic Navajo stampwork and cluster-style settings — especially Sonoran Beauty(Campitos) turquoise clusters, Kingman and Golden Hills turquoise, spiny oyster, chrysocolla, and white-buffalo — often set against oxidized/satin-finished silver with twist-wire or rope details.  Her work appears frequently in Southwestern galleries, trading-post sites, and retail sites.

 

Freddy Maloney

Freddy Maloney is one of three smithing brothers (Arnold and Leonard are his brothers) and does most of his work in traditional ingot; melting his silver to hammer it into a sheet before putting it through a hand rolling mill to finish making the sheet silver he works with. He is an amazing silversmith who true collectors can appreciate.

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Gregory Segura

Award-winning precious metals artist and Santa Fe native Gregory Segura started perfecting his silversmithing skills in the 1990s. He had served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a hotel manager and financial planner but his heart was looking for a new, more creative career path. In, 2008 Gregory picked up his hammer and lit his torch and never looked back. Gregory’s work reflects his Spanish and Native American heritage. For each of his original designs, he draws on the legacy of New Mexico’s master silversmiths as well as rich culture and natural beauty of the region. His work encompasses a wide range of diverse designs, from traditional to contemporary, making each piece individual and unique. in 2010, he received the E. Boyd Memorial Award for Originality and Expressive Design at Santa Fe’s annual Traditional Spanish Market. In 2021 New Mexico Magazine named Gregory as one of 12 Makers New Mexico. Recognition given to artists that inspire and are inspired by New Mexico. Gregory’s work is regularly featured in Robert Redford’s Sundance Catalog’s Heritage Collection. Numerous articles have featured Gregory and his work including Metalsmith Magazine, Trend and Native Arts to name a few.

Gregory’s Spanish ancestors arrived in Santa Fe around 1624 and he still calls it home with the love of his life and inspiration, Debra, and their two rescue cats,  

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Lawrence Baca

Lawrence Baca was an award-winning Santa Fe silversmith who started his career in the trade as a salesperson and apprentice to another silversmith, where he learned casting and fabrication. His work was distinguished by a unique style that fused Spanish Colonial and Native American cultural influences, and he was known for using materials like sterling silver and 24k gold. His legacy is continued by his wife, Maria Baca, who also makes jewelry

 

Leander Tahe

Leander Tahe is a Navajo silversmith known for his hand-stamped and heavy-gauge sterling silver work. As a self-taught artist, he uses traditional techniques to create ornate jewelry. The name "Tahe" or "Platero" actually translates to "silversmith" in Spanish, a nod to his craft.  

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Leon Martinez

Leon Martinez is a renowned Navajo silversmith from Prewitt, New Mexico, who started making jewelry at age nine with his parents, Leo and Edith Martinez. He is known for blending traditional Navajo styles with contemporary touches, often creating pieces with deep stampwork, heavy-gauge silver, and a distinctive vintage finish. His work is influenced by nature and traditional designs and has earned him top awards at major events like the Navajo Nation Fair and Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial. 

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Melvin Francis

Navajo silversmith Melvin Francis is an accomplished contemporary silversmith. His style is typically simple yet with elegant silverwork and colorful stones. He does many kinds of silver work including unique custom fabrication, overlay, and traditional stampwork. He credits his father, Ted Francis, as teacher. He is related to Fred Francis, a silversmith (uncle), Myrtle Francis (sister), Marlynn Francis (sister), weaver Melvina Francis (sister), weaver Erma Francis (mother), and weaver Anna Clyde (aunt).Melvin lives in Gallup, New Mexico.

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Michael Calladitto

Michael Calladitto is an artisan jewelry maker of Navajo (Diné) heritage, also part Apache.  He was raised in the village of Pruitt, New Mexico (on the Navajo reservation) and is of the Meadow-People clan.  Michael credits his wholes stamp-designing technique to making his own decorative stamps: “He makes most of the decorative stamps he uses … by hand from the tempered steel of old car engines (piston rods, valve stems).”  He often works as part of a husband-and-wife team with Rosita Calladitto. His jewelry is described as “traditional Navajo style jewelry using sterling silver & turquoise with deeply stamped designs.” 

 

Preston Haley

Preston was born in October of 1996 near Gallup, New Mexico.  He’s a fifth generation silversmith.  He’s the nephew of Ruby Haley, who is a famous artist for making Navajo Pearl necklaces.  Ruby’s grandmother, Annie Bahe Begay, taught Ruby the art of bead making when she was only six years old.  Preston’s cousins, Victoria, Veltenia, and Ben, are also very accomplished bead makers.Preston learned the art of bead-making from his aunt Ruby.  Ruby first started buying silver for Preston when his father was laid off at the coal mine so he could start making a living for himself.  He finds his artistic inspiration from his Aunt, and he likes to use a stamp on his beads that was passed down from his great-grandmother Annie.

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Robert Chee

Robert specializes in traditional jewelry, and he excels in silver casting and stamp work.  Robert was born in 1952 at home. There were 10 children in the family, and Robert was number nine! Robert’s father worked as a silversmith for the old Mike Kirk Trading Post. He is related to famous Navajo jeweler Harry Morgan, his first cousin, with whom he apprenticed under. They grew up together living under the same roof, and in the early days they lived in a hogan (traditional Navajo 8-sided home). 

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Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and raised in Pinedale (also spelled “Pindale”), New Mexico.  His career in silversmithing started when he was about 14 or 15 years old, working as a buffer for his parents’ handmade sterling silver beads.  In the summer of 1986, Johnson met the late silversmith Kirk Smith, who became his mentor. Smith taught him traditional Navajo stamping and antique-finish silver techniques.  Rather than follow his original plan (he had hoped to attend vocational school in Phoenix), he turned to full-time silversmithing because his jewelry business took off.

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Ronnie Willie

Ronnie Willie learned silversmithing from his oldest brother, Lonnie, who is also a silversmith. In addition to jewelry, Ronnie makes Kachinas and does sandpainting, rock sculpture and wood carving. Ronnie often makes his own tools and enjoys working on antique bracelets and concho belts.The willie name is known worldwide in the jewelry industry for their contemporary and edgy designs.

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Rosella Paxton-

Rosella Paxtonis a contemporary Diné (Navajo) silversmith known for creating handcrafted Native American jewelry, particularly pieces that feature turquoise stones. Paxton's work is characterized by classic, high-quality designs that showcase natural stones, Paxton's jewelry frequently highlights large, prominent turquoise stones, especially from the Royston and Pilot Mountain mines. Other stones, such as spiny oyster shell, are also incorporated into her designs.Her sterling silver work, including fabrication, is described as high-quality and intricate. Examples include detailed settings, hand-carved bands, silver beads, and other custom metalwork.

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Sheryl Martinez

Sheryl creates wonderful Southwest Jewelry, some with American Turquoise and some without. Sheryl Martinez makes some wonderful Native American Silver Rings.​

 

Sunshine Reeves

Daniel “Sunshine” Reeves was born into a family of New Mexico silversmiths. His brothers Gray Reeves and David Reeves taught him the craft, with which he has gone on to become one of the most distinguished silversmiths in the country. Reeves is well recognized as a master in his field. His work has been displayed at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University and the Heard Museum. Reeves 

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Tawny Willie

Tawney Willie is a contemporary Navajo silversmith from the well-known Willie family of artists, who was inspired and taught by her father, Lonnie Willie. She began her career later in life, drawing on both her Navajo heritage and her mother's Sioux ancestry to create jewelry with a unique style. Her work is known for its traditional Navajo craftsmanship, including bold designs, intricate stamp work, and the use of heavy-gauge sterling silver.  

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Timmy Yazzie

Timmy Yazzie is a Navajo/San Felipe/Santo Domingo silversmith. He was taught by his maternal grandfather the traditional ways of life, their history, and religion. His maternal grandmother was a pueblo potter, and his paternal grandfather was a rug maker and silversmith. Timmy studied jewelry making with well-known native artists to include Chalmers Day and Jimmy Harrison. Timmy Yazzie combines his fine inlay and stone work with the pottery designs in his silver overlay work, making his pieces one of a kind.

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Tom Yazzie

Tom Yazzie is Navajo, born and raised on the Navajo  Reservation. He is of the Bitter Water clan born for the Water Edge, his maternal grandparents are Towering House and his paternal grandparents  are Red House. Tom’s designs come from interpretation of the world around him.He continues to challenge his abilities with metal by discovering new ways to  create pieces that are uncomplicated yet multifaceted. This approach  allows him to maintain the traditional styles of his Navajo heritage along  with a more contemporary twist to his finished wearable work.

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Tyler Brown 

Tyler Brown is a Navajo (Diné) silversmith is only 32 years old & his art if frequently asked for by name by collectors. He is son of the late Navajo artist Dean Brown, who taught Tyler the art of making traditional Navajo jewelry from a young teenager. Tyler comes from a large family lineage of Navajo artists: uncles include Hemerson Brown, Anthony Skeets & Lee Charley, a cousin is Matthew Charley and a second uncle was the late silversmith Kirk Smith. Tyler’s work is recognized for cluster-style designs: many stones set closely together in patterns around a focal stone, often with vibrant color choices (turquoise, spiny oyster shells, lapis, coral).  He uses traditional Navajo silversmithing techniques (sterling silver, bezels, twisted-wire or rope borders, oxidized or satin-finished silver backgrounds) combined with bold, contemporary aesthetics (large stones, statement rings/cuffs).  He is noted for working with high-grade materials.  Geographically, his work shows influence of the Gallup, New Mexico region. 

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Vincent Platero

Vincent J. Platero, Sr. is a Navajo (Diné) artist from the Edgewater and Black Streak clans. Learning silversmithing from his mother, Helen Chavez, Platero has been actively making jewelry since the 1970s.
Born in 1957, Platero is from To’hajiilee, New Mexico, and is known for his beautiful and intricate stampwork, utilizing his extremely large collection of handmade silver stamps. The detail and craftsmanship of Platero’s work has earned him awards from the New Mexico State Fair and the Denver Art Market. He stamps his work with one of two hallmarks, “VJP,” or an arrow with “Vincent” above it. The name “Platero” actually translates to “silversmith” in Spanish.