Turquoise Blog — inverted crescent-shaped pendant

When native American Indian jewelry is mentioned, the squash blossom necklace is often the first that comes to mind. It is one of the most iconic and well-known designs of American Indian jewelry, with the inverted crescent-shaped pendant -- “naja” as so called by the Navajo -- as its signature centerpiece. There have been different sayings about the origin of the necklace. One popular speculation is that the Southwest Indian designs were heavily influenced by the Spanish. They first saw the crescent-shaped pendant as iron ornaments on the horse bridles of the Spanish Conquistadors in the late 16th and early...