Stone by Stone

The Micro Inlay Story of Carl & Irene Clark.

Few jewelers working today can match the patience and precision of Carl and Irene Clark with micro inlay. This Diné (Navajo) husband-and-wife duo is the creators of micro-fine inlay—a technique where thousands of hand-cut stones are set into silver or gold to form symbolic, geometric masterpieces.

From traditional Yei figures to the Navajo rug pattern design, each piece they create is a visual prayer, rooted in Diné heritage and elevated by meticulous craftsmanship. A single piece can take weeks, even months, to complete.

Their work isn’t just intricate. It’s intentional.

Please follow the link below to read or click here to read our full blog post on Carl and Irene Clark.

TREE OF LIFE BOLO

At the heart of the design is a corn stalk emerging from a traditional Navajo wedding basket, surrounded by birds—each element carefully inlaid using hundreds of hand-cut stones. The inlay incorporates turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, jet, sugilite, and mother of pearl, arranged in perfect harmony to evoke the visual language of Navajo weaving through stone. This transformation of textile symbolism into stonework is a signature innovation of the Clarks, setting them apart in the world of contemporary Native American jewelry.

Their journey to this level of skill has been a challenging one, as it is with so many artists. Carl taught himself how to make jewelry in 1973, with his first piece being constructed on pure impulse. He was the shop manager for a store that employed some twenty-odd silversmiths, who made work on site. One day, during the height of the sun at lunchtime, his curiosity and his inner calling to create pulled him to try his hand at making a pendant. Taking two turquoise stones, he fabricated the whole design in just half an hour of concentrated work. A client who was present on the shop floor saw him construct the newborn pendant and offered to buy it. That moment burns bright in Carl’s memory. Out of his element, unsure of whether to accept the offer, he was saved by his boss’s wife, who had been nearby, calmly reading her magazine. Two simple words, “Sell it,” led to the passerby offering twenty dollars for the pendant. Again, coming to his rescue, she told him to take the offer. Twenty dollars was five times his hourly rate, and a surge of emotion flooded through him as a hundred heady feelings filled him. Sometimes we have those moments, where what we knew and were certain of are all swept away. It can be a sensual thing, or a piece of knowledge that strikes true in a way we never knew before. In that moment, Carl could barely hear the reasons the boss’s wife was giving for why he should keep the twenty dollars. A new world had opened up before him.

— Ornement Magazine Quote on Carl and Irene Clark