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The past and present of gem mining and trading are the focus of the "Set in Stone" exhibit.

The art of jewelry making, silversmithing and carving of stones to reveal the precious gem within make up the newest exhibit at the Arizona State Museum.

The museum tracks the history of the gem and mineral trading industry, which dates back more than 2,000 years, and showcases modern jewelry made by Navajo, Hopi, Zunis and other indigenous jewelers with its “Set in Stone” exhibit. The exhibit opens Saturday with a cultural craft day event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The craft day, which is free and open to the public, features Navajo jeweler Alex Beeshligaii, who will be on hand to transform silver and stone into beautiful jewelry.

In addition, the museum will offer guided tours and hands-on exhibits where the public is invited to design and craft necklaces or bracelets or try their hand at etching and decorating seashells.

The exhibit was timed to open during the 54th annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in an effort to show how gems have impacted the local economy for over 2,000 years. Today, artists from around the world come to Tucson to view and purchase gems and minerals not readily available in their countries.

“The same trade premise has been taking place since before the Spanish invasion," said Arthur Vokes, the museum's archeological repository curator. "Gems, minerals, copper, sea shells and other exotic goods have been carried across the Southwest along well-established and well-worn routes for more than 2,000 years.”

Vokes has been with the museum for 20 years and is an expert in trade networks and trade items in the time period before the Spanish invasion. “During the 13th and 14th century we see copper bells, which were used for decoration, turquoise used for mosaic work and as well carved turquoise frogs, which had ritual significance. In short, turquoise represented a status of authority within the Aztec community,” Vokes said.

“Turquoise was prized by the Aztecs and they traded seashells and exotic feathers to get it. Over time and especially once the Spanish invasion took place, Arizona’s silver and turquoise mines were a key to the trading industry and made the Southwest synonymous with silver and turquoise,” Vokes said.

Diane Dittemore, an ethnological collections curator who has worked at the museum for 29 years, added: “Trade really picked up after the 1880’s, when railroads came into the Southwest bringing tourists in from all over the country to see the 'exotic' indians, with their extensive craft traditions. Tourism resulting from the arrival of the railroad provided an all-new market for Native silversmithing," she said.

“Silversmithing had blossomed first among Navajos who learned the techniques from Mexican artisans. From the Navajo, the craft spread to Zunis, Hopis and other tribes, who then modified their work to accommodate the tastes of the tourists while also defining a specific style for themselves as artists and as members of their tribal community,” Dittemore added.

The exhibit features hundreds of objects such as ancient, historic and contemporary Southwestern Native jewelry, photographs, mineral samples and mining tools and traces how the quest for mineral wealth has shaped the identity of the Southwest.

“Set in Stone” will continue as an exhibit until Feb. 2010.