Native Design Beaded Cuff Bracelets
From LoveToKnow Jewelry
Native design beaded cuff bracelets are fun, colorful accessories for a look that's definitely out of the ordinary. Whether you love anything to do with the southwest, or you just like to wear great looking jewelry, a Native American beaded bracelet could be just what you're looking for.
Native American Arts and Crafts
Long before Europeans landed on American shores, Native Americans used their artistic skills to create objects that were beautiful and useful, including silver jewelry, belts, colorful blankets, rugs, pots and beaded jewelry, including bracelets. To this day many of these traditional art forms have survived and continue to have a loyal following.
Native American Bead Arts
One of the most popular of the Native American arts is beadwork, which has been used to create eyeglass cases, hatbands, coin purses and wallets, to name just a few. Back in the days before a person could head down to the nearest craft store in search of beads, Native Americans made their beads using the materials that the land and sea made available to them. When a deer was hunted, its meat fed the people, its pelt warmed them and its horns and hooves were carved into beautiful beads to adorn them. Holes were bored into the teeth of animals and strung on a cord to make jewelry. Stones, especially semi-precious gemstones like turquoise, were turned into beads, as were coral and sea shells. When Europeans and their glass beads arrived on American shores, the natives adopted the beads for use in their jewelry making. Not only were the beads turned into jewelry, but they were used to brighten up clothing and footwear as well.
Cuff Bracelets
What differentiates a cuff bracelet from any other bracelet? A cuff bracelet is a type of bracelet that is especially wide, like the cuff of a shirt, and stiff. Like any type of jewelry, cuff bracelets can be made from a variety of materials, including silver, gold, steel and other metals, or plastic and leather.h
Native American Cuff Bracelet Designs
There are many beautiful native design bracelets made from sterling silver and embedded with that favorite southwestern stone, turquoise. However, with native design beaded cuff bracelets the tiny beads are usually sewn in geometric patterns onto leather or an animal hide and the beaded hide is then glued to a metal cuff, which can also be covered with leather or suede or left bare. Styles of beading can vary from bracelet to bracelet and genuine Native American beading styles differ from tribe to tribe, with Navajo beading showing different patterns from Comanche, for example. Even so, many modern jewelry designers seek to achieve a native look without conforming to the style of one particular tribe.
Where to Buy Native Design Beaded Cuff Bracelets
Bead bracelets can often be found on Native American reservations or gift shops in the southwest region of the United States. For those who don't live in the southwest and have no plans to travel there in the near future, the internet is the best bet for obtaining native design beaded cuff bracelets. Here are a few sites to check out:
- Ebay is a great source for native jewelry. Interested buyers can bid for the bracelets in online auctions or buy them at a fixed price from the sellers' stores. The wares offered for sale are constantly changing at eBay, so be sure to check back frequently.
- Desert Sage Bead Art is a website where buyers can browse through the numerous brilliantly hued bracelet designs and even place a custom order. There are pages and pages of bracelets featuring different motifs and colors to go with any outfit. What a selection!
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