The “squash blossom” design is the most commonly used motif in Navajo jewelry and is believed to ward off evil. It has been made since the 1860s. The inspiration for the components of the necklace derive from the Moorish and Spanish traditions. When the Spanish settled in the New World, they influenced Mexican design, and the Mexicans, in turn, taught the Navajo how to make silver jewelry. The Spanish pomegranate flower was the inspiration for these flowers, which the Navajo, when pressed, called squash blossom flowers. But the name in Navajo, means "the bead that expands."
