McKee Platero

McKee Platero

Is considered by collectors to be a prevalent silversmith of his time. He is one of the most imaginative, technically proficient Native American artists working today.

Born in 1957 and raised in a family of silversmiths, he still lives with his elderly mother on the Navajo Reservation South West of Gallup, New Mexico. His uncles and his grandfather were Navajo jewelers, who were known for their heavy Native American silver jewelry pieces with deep and precise stamp work.

It is told that renowned jewelry collector Teal  McGibbon saw McKee’s jewelry first day of Indian market and tried to buy all his works. McKee would not sell them, however when she returned to his stall at the end of market he had not sold one.  A visionary for potential, she purchased every item from the Navajo jeweler. For many years Teal sold McKee’s works in Santa Fe until her passing in 2006.

McKee Platero jewelry has gained worldwide fame for its amazing designs and the brilliant mastery of working silver into incredible works of wearable art.  Platero’s jewelry harnesses his ancestor’s traditional imagery, yet appears contemporary at the same time. His hand stamping is unique in that it is always a little deeper than most.

McKee Platero still uses the traditional method of hand hammering silver. His choice of materials include ingot silver,  set stones of Spiny Oyster, coral and Sleeping Beauty turquoise. His designs express the spirituality of the Navajo people in a modern contemporary form.