Frequently Asked Questions about Northwest Coast Jewelry

Why are certain animals commonly depicted in Northwest Coast jewelry while other animals that also live on the coast are rarely seen?

Northwest Coast Indigenous jewelers have traditionally favored heraldic family symbols that, for millennia, have communicated relationships—from the organizational structure of a community to an individual’s lineage. Artists rarely diverge from these established animal figures when hand-engraving jewelry for cultural use. However, with the rise of jewelry being created for commercial purposes during the early 1800s, atypical figures began to enter the market. Today, many jewelers still honor the artistic traditions of their communities but will accept commissions for unconventional designs.

Why aren’t Northwest Coast jewelry pieces stamped with fineness marks or hallmarks?

In many countries, metals are stamped with a hallmark that guarantees the standard of purity. Canada and the United States do not have statutory hallmarking systems, and most Indigenous jewelers rely on jewelry supply stores in Vancouver, Victoria, Juneau and Seattle to sell them sheets of metal or pre-cut blanks to guarantee these standards. Since the 1970s, it has been customary for Northwest Coast Indigenous jewelers to place a highly recognizable mark on every piece they create. These makers’ marks, however, should be considered signatures rather than hallmarks.

Is there a reason for the relative lack of inlay, overlay and stonework in the Northwest Coast jewelry market?

The focus of Northwest Coast jewelry has always been to communicate lineage, rank, and status by clearly hand-engraving family crest figures. Inlay, overlay, and stonework have little to do with communicating identity and have therefore always been of secondary importance. Many people are familiar with Indigenous jewelry from the American Southwest, which is known for casting and the use of local stones such as turquoise and jasper, and wonder why Indigenous jewelry from the Pacific Northwest is so different. Again, Indigenous culture in the Pacific Northwest emphasizes the shapes of the Northwest Coast visual lexicon, the way these shapes interact, the subjects that are frequently depicted, and how these shapes and symbols relate to culture.

Is cast or mass-produced Northwest Coast jewelry made for the market?

To this day, companies in British Columbia, Washington and Alaska still sell cast, stamped, and embossed jewelry depicting Northwest Native motifs. This mass-produced jewelry is affordable, and easy to produce, and it can supply a large number of popular designs very quickly. These replica pieces are often of lesser quality and are sold almost exclusively to tourists. Even an untrained eye can distinguish mass-produced jewelry from a hand-engraved piece. Most buyers familiar with Northwest Coast Native culture and art still prefer to support artists directly by purchasing individually produced, handmade pieces directly from a gallery that specializes in Northwest Coast art.