Black Hills Gold jewelry is an original American art form created in the 1870's in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The design utilizes leaves, grape clusters and vines, made from "pink gold" and "green gold", to surround the main focal point of each piece. The pink color is made by combining gold with copper, and the delicate green color is achieved by adding sterling silver with gold.
By law, any piece of jewelry bearing the description "Black Hills Gold" must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
While there are several manufacturers of authentic Black Hills Gold jewelry, Landstrom's is the oldest and most famous. Landstrom's roots date back to 1878 when S.T. Butler, trained by French prospector and goldsmith Henri LeBeau, opened the first Black Hills Gold jewelry manufacturing store with his son, George M. Butler in Deadwood, South Dakota. In 1919, the company was divided into two companies, the F.L. Thorpe Company and the Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing Company. In 1944 Ivan Landstrom bought the Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing Company and in 1995 Black Hills Gold history went full circle when Landstrom's acquired the F.L. Thorpe Company making Landstrom's the sole owner of all the original Black Hills Gold designs.
The jewelry-making process: Each new design first begins as an artist's sketch which in turn becomes a detailed drawing. The next step is to carve a precise, three-dimensional piece in wax which is then surrounded by a plaster-like substance. When heated, the wax melts and leaves a void which molten gold is poured into creating a gold casting.
Bars of 12 karat* gold are rolled into sheets from which classic shapes such as leaves and other parts are punched out. These are then individually hand-soldered to the gold casting and, depending on the design, possibly dipped in liquid 24 karat gold to create a bright finish. Other details, such as the veins of each leaf are then hand-etched to produce unique prismatic cuts.
This overall process typically requires the the skills of up to 50 different highly trained artisans.
* What's the difference between a Karat and a Carat? A Karat is a unit of measure for the fineness of gold, equal to 1/24 of the total amount of pure gold in an alloy. Thus, 24k is pure gold. A Carat is a unit weight for precious stone, equal to 200 milligrams.
No two pieces of Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold jewelry are alike as each is hand made. Each piece of Landstrom's jewelry reflects great pride in craftsmanship by talented artisans with skills taught by their predecessors over 100 years ago. Landstrom's has been admired and sought after for over a century.
Gypsies traveling through South Dakota in the 1950's started a legend which says, "To one who wears the Black Hills Gold, good luck and fortune will unfold."
Michael Amato is owner of BlackHillsGoldSource.com, authorized online distributor of Landstroms Original Black Hills Gold Creations. In addition to operating an online portal, Amato will also work with customers who have special needs for custom items such as mounting an heirloom stone on a Black Hills Gold wedding ring, or replacing a lost earring from an existing pair. Visit: http://www.BlackHillsGoldSource.com
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
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