Art of Turquoise

In honor of the color of calm.

Turquoise and silver is an icon of the American Southwest. For generations, people have ogled these gemstones in pawn shops, jewelry shops and antiques stores, looking for a special piece of Native American jewelry that speaks to their heart. Southwest jewelry is now valued and collected around the world.

Photographs of collectible pieces reveal what the attraction is about. Whether in shades of pale aqua or deeper aquamarine, blue or jade green, Mary Emmerling reveals that the collector's hunt is about color. And beyond jewelry, the color turquoise appears throughout the Southwest in architecture and decoration. After all, it's the color of calm.

Mary Emmerling is the maven of American country style. She is the author of Art of Turquoise plus a series of books on American country decorating. Her most recent book is Eclectic Country. She divides her time between Santa Fe and Phoenix.

Jim Arndt is author of How to Be a Cowboy and photographed Art of Turquoise as well as several Cowboy Boot books. He lives in Santa Fe.