Fred Harvey-era jewellery refers to a distinctive style of Southwestern Native American adornment that emerged in the early 20th century. Produced during a time when railway tourism was booming, these pieces were designed to appeal to curious travellers exploring the American Southwest. Lightweight, stamped with evocative symbols, and often incorporating turquoise, they were the perfect souvenir—small enough to carry, rich with romantic symbolism.
Today, collectors and enthusiasts value this jewellery for its charm, historical importance, and its role in shaping the public’s perception of Native American artistry. Though originally crafted for a commercial market, Fred Harvey-era jewellery now holds a place in museum collections, vintage fashion, and serious jewellery archives alike.
Who was Fred Harvey?
Fred Harvey, an English immigrant to the United States, revolutionised hospitality along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in the late 1800s. His chain of “Harvey Houses” provided consistent, clean, and high-quality services to railway passengers across the Southwest. But beyond his achievements in food and lodging, Harvey’s impact extended to the world of Native American craft.
Harvey recognised that travellers were eager to experience the culture of the Southwest. To meet this demand, he established an Indian Department in 1901, headed by Herman Schweizer, which was tasked with sourcing and later producing crafts, including jewellery, for sale in his establishments. These efforts helped create a sustainable market for Native artisans, albeit one driven by tourist tastes rather than tribal tradition.
The Indian Detours
Indian Detours emerged as an integral part of the tourist experience in the American Southwest during the early 20th century. These journeys, organised by the Fred Harvey Company, offered travellers a rare glimpse into Native American life and culture.
Departing from well-known Harvey Houses, detours typically included visits to nearby reservations and traditional villages. Visitors were treated to demonstrations of pottery making, weaving, and silversmithing by skilled artisans whose techniques had been passed down through generations.
The excursions were designed to appeal to the romantic imagination of the time, often focusing on curated displays of dance, music, and ceremonial traditions. While the experiences were undoubtedly educational, they also catered to the commercial interests of the era by promoting an idealised version of Native American culture. In many cases, the presentation was tailored to suit the tastes of non-Native tourists rather than demonstrating the reality of Native American life.
What defines Fred Harvey-Era jewellery?
Fred Harvey-era jewellery was created specifically for non-Native travellers. In contrast to traditional Navajo or Pueblo jewellery of the 19th century, which was heavy and ceremonial, these pieces were lighter, more delicate, and more symbolic in design.
The most recognisable motifs include thunderbirds, arrows, lightning bolts, whirling logs, sunbursts, and four-directional crosses. These symbols were selected for their appeal to tourists rather than their original spiritual or cultural meanings. The jewellery often featured scalloped edges, twisted wire detailing, and small turquoise cabochons, usually set into stamped silver cuffs, rings, and brooches.
While mass production played a growing role—especially later in the period—many early pieces were still hand-finished or fully handmade by Native artisans working to meet demand.
Materials and techniques
Silver and turquoise were the dominant materials. Early pieces were sometimes fashioned from coin silver, while later works used sterling silver sheet stock. Turquoise was typically natural and sourced from regional mines in Arizona and New Mexico.
Stamping was the most characteristic technique, used to impress decorative motifs into the silver using steel dies and a hammer. Repoussé (raising designs from the reverse side) and chasing (engraving on the front) were also used, as were soldering, saw-cutting, and twisted wire accents.
The scale of production varied. In some cases, artisans made pieces individually by hand; in others, they worked in workshop settings producing jewellery to standardised designs, sometimes with the assistance of machine presses.
Key artisans and tribes
Although many pieces from this period were unsigned, they were often made by skilled Native American artisans from the Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and Pueblo communities. Their contributions shaped the aesthetic of the Fred Harvey style, even as they worked within designs dictated by tourist preferences.
Navajo silversmiths played a central role in developing lightweight stamped silver cuffs and rings. Zuni artists, known for their lapidary skills, began incorporating fine stone inlay work into tourist pieces. Hopi artisans later became known for their overlay technique, which would gain prominence after the Fred Harvey period but had early roots during this time.
Companies such as Bell Trading Co. and Maisel’s established workshops in which dozens of Native artisans were employed. While individual names were seldom credited, these workshop settings provided steady employment and training opportunities, helping to preserve and adapt traditional skills.
Evolution of style
Before the turn of the 20th century, Native jewellery was bold, with large turquoise stones and heavy silver work, made primarily for ceremonial use. With the advent of railway tourism and commercialisation, styles shifted dramatically.
Fred Harvey-era pieces became smaller, lighter, and more decorative. Stamped motifs multiplied, and turquoise settings were downsized to suit mass appeal. Jewellery became more accessible, both in price and wearability, and was increasingly produced in workshops to meet rising demand.
By the 1950s, this style began to decline, giving way to a renewed emphasis on traditional craftsmanship and individual artistry during the Native American jewellery revival of the 1960s and 70s. Yet, the Fred Harvey aesthetic continued to influence the design vocabulary of the Southwest, bridging folk art and commercial design.
Collecting and value
Fred Harvey-era jewellery is collectable for its history, charm, and craftsmanship. Value is influenced by condition, rarity of motifs, materials, and—where possible—association with a known maker or trading post.
Well-preserved pieces with original patina and stones are most desirable. Unusual designs or hallmark variants may command higher prices, as can documented provenance. While many pieces remain affordable, increasing interest in vintage Native American jewellery has pushed prices upward in recent years.
Contemporary legacy
Fred Harvey-era jewellery continues to exert influence on both fashion and Southwestern jewellery design. Vintage cuffs, pins, and rings are worn today as statement pieces, and their motifs regularly appear in modern collections.
Contemporary Native artists, while often drawing on different aesthetic and cultural foundations, sometimes incorporate or respond to the forms popularised during this period. In doing so, they contribute to an ongoing dialogue between tradition, adaptation, and innovation.
The era also spurred wider interest in Native craftsmanship, helping to establish a market that today supports countless artisans working in a wide array of traditional and contemporary styles.
Red Rabbit Trading Co: Keeping the Fred Harvey spirit alive
Among the contemporary brands honouring and revitalising the Fred Harvey-era aesthetic, Red Rabbit Trading Co stands out for its dedication to authenticity, craftsmanship, and cultural continuity. Based in New Mexico, the brand was founded with the goal of recreating the spirit and look of early 20th-century Southwestern tourist jewellery—what is often referred to as “Fred Harvey style”—while using traditional materials and techniques to produce heirloom-quality pieces for modern wearers.
Red Rabbit Trading Co’s pieces are instantly recognisable for their faithful interpretation of classic motifs: thunderbirds, arrows, lightning bolts, and scalloped-edge cuffs all echo the designs seen in early railway-era adornment. However, what distinguishes Red Rabbit from mass-market replicas is the handmade nature of their jewellery. Every piece is stamped, shaped, and soldered by hand, just as Native artisans did a century ago. This lends a tangible authenticity to their work, capturing not only the appearance but the tactile quality of vintage Fred Harvey jewellery.
The company places strong emphasis on working with sterling silver and natural turquoise, often using stones with matrix patterns and colouring that would have been popular during the early 1900s. While many of their pieces are new, they are crafted with such attention to period-correct detail—down to the patination and tool marks—that they could easily be mistaken for antiques. This makes them particularly attractive to collectors and stylists who appreciate vintage aesthetics but want new, wearable jewellery that doesn’t compromise on craftsmanship.
In terms of ethos, Red Rabbit Trading Co channels the spirit of the trading posts that once lined the Southwest. Just as those original establishments were hubs of cultural exchange and artistic production, Red Rabbit seeks to keep that tradition alive through its workshop model and respect for heritage design. The brand does not mass-produce; instead, it offers small batches of handmade work, with each piece slightly unique—another nod to the variability and charm of true Fred Harvey-era items.
The popularity of Red Rabbit Trading Co’s pieces among collectors, fashion editors, and musicians attests to a broader revival of interest in early 20th-century Southwest style. For those seeking the look and feel of genuine Fred Harvey-era jewellery—without the fragility or scarcity of true antiques—Red Rabbit offers a compelling modern alternative that bridges past and present with integrity.
In a market saturated with imitation, Red Rabbit Trading Co stands out by honouring tradition, elevating craftsmanship, and rekindling the romance of the railway-era Southwest through every piece they make.
Shop for Fred-Harvey-era Sterling Silver jewellery at Those That Know
We’re proud to work with the Red Rabbit Trading Co. brand and offer their pieces to our customers. We’ve stocked Red Rabbit since not long after we started TTK and we love seeing the unique ways our customers combine pieces together into their set up.
We always try to keep a good mix of new, favourite, popular and one-off pieces in stock, so head over to our Red Rabbit Trading Co. section to see our current collection.
Further reading and resources
To explore Fred Harvey-era jewellery in greater depth, consider the following:
• Fred Harvey Jewelry: 1900–1955 by Dennis June offers a collector’s perspective with detailed examples.
• Southwest Silver Jewelry by Paula A. Baxter provides broader historical context and rich visual documentation.
• Museum collections at the Wheelwright Museum (Santa Fe) and the Heard Museum (Phoenix) showcase fine examples of early 20th-century Native American jewellery.
• Online communities and forums such as those hosted by Vintage Native American Jewellery groups or Southwestern arts societies can be excellent places to learn more and share knowledge.