2 Ways To Make Sure You're Buying Authentic Native American Jewelry

One of the biggest risks that you undertake when buying Native American jewelry is that it is fake, mostly because many overseas companies and individuals have decided to try and cash in on the popularity of this style of jewelry. Listed below are two ways to tell if Native American jewelry is authentic and avoid getting ripped off by an unscrupulous dealer. 

Look For Identical Pieces

A major way to tell if a seller or store is selling fake Native American jewelry is to see if they are selling multiple identical pieces. While it is not uncommon to see similar pieces from the same artist, you will not see exact duplicates. When you see multiple identical pieces on the same website or in a jewelry store, simply walk away and find another source for Native American jewelry as those pieces were mass-produced in a factory rather than made by a tribal artist.

Read The Label

One of the easiest ways to avoid fake Native American jewelry is to pay attention to the label and description of the jewelry itself. The main reason for this is that the United States government has placed some very strict limits on what can be labeled as Native American jewelry.

For example, only jewelry that is created by a member of a federally recognized tribe or nation is permitted to be labeled or described with the terms Indian or Native American. A common workaround that many companies and sellers use to get around this law is to use phrases like "Indian-inspired" or "Indian-style," which can be major giveaways that the jewelry is not authentic.

Another reason to pay attention to the description or label when buying Native American jewelry is to see if the piece mentions the origin of the piece. This origin description should typically include the tribe from which the piece originated.

While this can be difficult information to acquire for older pieces, there is really no excuse for this information to be missing if the piece was created recently. If the seller or store does not provide the name of the tribe or cannot narrow it down at all, then consider walking away as the piece may very well be a fake.

Visit your local jewelry store today in order to look at the many types of Native American jewelry pieces that are available to you. Simply by looking for the existence of identical pieces and paying attention to label and description, you can greatly reduce the chances that you will end up buying a fake piece. Contact a company like Jeffrey-Private Jeweler for more information.