Black Hills Design
Today you can buy Black Hills gold jewelry in a huge range of products including rings, pendants and earrings. Different manufacturers have their own ranges, however there are a couple of traditional design favourites that are considered distinctive of the region.For many people these nature inspired designs are as much part of what makes Black Hills gold special as the South Dakota origin of the metal itself.
Grapes, Vines and Hummingbirds
The most well known Black Hills style of jewelry design involves grapes and vine leaves. These are often formed in multiple types of gold, usually yellow, pink and green colours.A single grape leaf has long been a standard design in many regions. In the Black Hills this design was expanded to include multiple leaves and bunches of fruit which are associated with the area today.
There is a legend that this design was first created by a Frenchman who had travelled to Dakota as part of the gold rush. Whilst out hunting for gold he fell asleep and dreamed of his native France and the vineyards there, a dream that inspired him to create the now classic style associated with jewelry from the Black Hills. How much of that story is history and how much marketing is unknown to me.
Another popular design you can buy today incorporates the hummingbird, a design particularly associated with Landstrom's black gold jewelry. Landstrom's traces its origin back to the original Central City jewelry shop opened in 1878 by S.T.Butler.
External Links:
Black Hills National Forest