Turquoise Direct

Why “Turquoise Direct”? Our family works directly with the miners of Nevada and Arizona and directly with the finest Native American artists of the Southwest. Providing the highest quality natural, untreated American turquoise to the best Native American silver and goldsmiths in the Southwest, we enable collectors of fine quality Native American Jewelry to obtain the best Navajo, Hopi and Santo Domingo jewelry for the best prices.

We’ve been in this business for over 45 years. In 1972, John and Barbara Chaney founded Artesanos Trading Company in Corrales, New Mexico with the concept of purchasing only the highest quality American turquoise and trading with the best Navajo, Hopi, and Santo Domingo jewelers. In those days, they invested time and energy in to forging strong ties with the miners in the desert southwest – flying into the dirt strips of Nevada and Arizona to hand pick the best turquoise to trade with their artist friends. Trading the turquoise for fine gold and silver Indian jewelry, they sold to some of the best Indian Art galleries in the country including the Charles Eagle Plume Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado.

In the 1980s, Barbara and John founded the Tanner Chaney Gallery and, later, Native Gold, in Albuquerque’s Old Town. During this period, Indian County, a radio show highlighting cultural and historical Native American traditions and topics aired on local radio stations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, written and hosted by Barbara Chaney. In the mid-1990’s the Chaneys sold their galleries and semi-retired, although they continued to work with Nevada miners and deal rough and cut turquoise to manufacturing houses and their Native American friends.

Now, Josh and Melissa Chaney are continuing the family tradition of American turquoise and fine Native American jewelry. Turquoise Direct is a return to the roots of the family business, offering the best Navajo, Hopi and Santo Domingo jewelry directly from the American turquoise miners and Native American jewelers to collectors. The concept remains the same: Offer the best quality Native American jewelry for the best price.