The process of making sterling silver jewelry with overlay technique is highly characteristic of the Hopi Indians. It begins with forming a base and an overlay piece of sheet silver of the same size and shape. A design will then be sawed out of the overlay piece and sweat soldered onto the top of the base piece. The design is cut out by hand with a jewelers saw and the technique involves much patience and expertise. The soldering process is an intricate process as well and takes much practice to perfect. Once the soldering of the two pieces is completed, the base sheet is blackened or oxidized chemically with liver of sulphur. The top overlay piece is then given a high polish which results in an attractive contrast. The Hopi’s often give their sterling silver jewelry a matte type finish simply by rubbing it with very fine steel wool. Often times, stamping is added to the base to give it additional and rich contrast.

The Zuni’s will often fill in the cut out design with turquoise or shell mosaic which gives the jewelry an extra flair. Many times the cut out will be filled with copper or brass to give a contrast in metal color. Although the Hopi’s specialize in this technique, the Navajo’s also make a number sterling silver jewelry pieces utilizing overlay. The Santo Domingo Indians create overlay using their old ceramic designs. This contrasting overlay technique results in some of the finest examples of Native American jewelry and the style has created a consistent demand for the Hopi silver work.