Cheaper Imported Jewelry Challenges Native American Artists and Tourist Community
In the Southwest region of the United States, a virtual flood of cheaply made imported imitation jewelry is dousing the market and wreaking havoc on local communities that rely on such craftsmen to keep their economies afloat. These cheaper pieces, cleverly designed to look exactly like the real, and consequently more expensive, thing are confusing tourists on the lookout for bargains and infuriating Native American artists who have practiced the jewelry making craft for countless centuries. Local authorities have gotten involved in US states such as New Mexico in order to try and stem the flow of illicit jewelry that is being sold in certain areas by unscrupulous merchants.
While imitation jewelry designed to mimic Native American crafts or jewelry from other indigenous cultures across the globe is nothing new, the trade group known as The Indian Arts and Crafts Association has released figures that show nearly 75 percent of the $1 billion in annual income from these goods is being replaced by those selling inauthentic goods that devastate the native artists who create these products. According to the attorney general of New Mexico, as much as 90 percent of the jewelry claimed to be of Native American craftsman ship is currently mislabeled and is, in fact, not authentic. This means that consumers are over paying because they do not realize the worth of the objects that they are purchasing. These false jewelry pieces often look incredibly similar to the real thing, but are actually mass produced in countries far from the lands that they are claimed to be made in.
Some of the faux jewelry manufacturers even go so far as to duplicate the signatures of certain famous Native American craftsman in order to command a higher price. The imitation silver and turquoise pieces, adored around the world by collectors, are especially vulnerable to this form of imitation because they traditionally sell well to tourists who want a genuine piece of the Southwest desert region that ties back into the native peoples that have dwelt here for so long. The strong resemblance of the imitation goods to those pieces such as bracelets or fetish items that sell for hundreds and thousands of dollars means that everyone involved is getting a bad shake. While the duplication of designs is certainly not illegal, selling such designs in a deceptively advertised way certainly is.