Monongye’s son, Jesse, has also established himself as an award-winning jeweler. Gifted in metal overlay and lapidary, his most striking inlay pieces combine traditional motifs with scenes of the night landscape and starry sky. His materials are decidedly unconventional: 18 and 22 karat gold, opals, onyx, Tahitian black pearls, even diamonds. The gift shop at the Totems to Turquoise show sold a silver cuff bracelet inlaid with jet, turquoise and coral for $16,500.

Another student of Preston Monongye’s was the Navajo jeweler Lee Yazzie, who, along with his brother Raymond, is a towering figure on the Native jewelry scene. Tanner calls Lee Yazzie’s blue corn bracelet, composed of different “kernels” of turquoise, lapis, coral and opal “possibly the most significant piece of Southwest Indian jewelry ever made.” It is a featured piece in the Totems to Turquoise exhibition. But the pièce de résistance is Raymond Yazzie’s Blessings cuff bracelet. Fashioned from 18 karat gold, the cuff features an abstract Katsina design of inlaid turquoise, opal, lapis lazuli and onyx. Some of the stones are so tiny Yazzie had to polish them by holding them between his fingernails. His Life bracelet of coral and fossilized turquoise is available at the exhibit’s gift shop for $125,000.

“When you consider the work that goes into these pieces, they are still moderately priced in comparison to other fine jewelry,” observes Sharon Wand, who with her husband, Richard, have collected Native American jewelry for 40 years. While the couple own some traditional pieces, they have focused on works by contemporary artists. “It’s interesting to watch the evolution of the jewelry in general, and of the artists in particular,” Richard Wand says. “Also what we like is that you won’t see these pieces on five other people. Most of them are one of a kind.”