The Anselm Collection

Tufa cast silver pin.  The 1 ¼” x 2 ¼” concho style pin has a Bisbee cabochon in the center. This traditional style pin was made by Dan Oliver.

Dan Oliver, resident silversmith at Shades of the West, creates original American Indian jewelry exclusively for Shades of the West and Bischoff’s at the Park. His father, Lloyd Oliver, was Navajo and his mother Pima. Lloyd was one of the original 29 code talkers in World War 11. As a young boy, Dan would watch his father doing silver work, so he learned the art of making jewelry from him.

Tufa casting is a technique of pouring molten silver into a tufa stone mold and letting it harden into a given form.  The mold is only used once; therefore each item is an original piece.