My Gorget & A Brief History

By Mike Webb

My copper gorget with an engraved water spider.

Gorgets in ancient Native America were decorative on shells, stone, and other materials. They were moon shaped (round), crescent, rectangular or other shapes. They were worn decoratively hanging on the chest, or attached to clothing. Early in Europe they were designed to protect the neck and worn with armor. In later times the metal ornately decorated gorgets (copper or silver) became symbols of rank, status, or style. The French and English used gorgets as gifts, honors or awards to influence the Cherokees and other tribes.

Today we wear them as part of a Cherokee style. Any individual can design their own gorget. The gorget in the photo is one that I designed for myself. I started with a plain or blank solid brass gorget that I found online ($18.00). (I searched for copper but could not find.) I searched online for Cherokee gorget designs, and I found an ancient water spider on what appeared to be a round shell. My wife Liz was able to use Adobe Illustrator to create a vector art file (required by engraver) and to make a similar design for me. I took her finished art to my engraver (All Safe Engravers Inc., Sacramento-based, cost $31.00, plus tax). After engraving was completed I took it to my metal plater (Sherms Plating, Sacramento-based, cost $61.18, tax included) to be copper plated. After plating it cannot be handled with bare hands before it is spray sealed, which I did myself (Rust-oleum, acrylic lacquer, gloss, premium automotive formula, cost $8.00, four coats, 2 on each side). Total cost was approximately $120.00. You can do your own with your own design. Here’s a video of a Cherokee crafter making paper gorgets.