Ray Tracey was born and raised on the Navajo reservation near Ganado, New Mexico. "Traditional Navajo jewelry is where I come from," he says. "That was my first love. Hey, I'm Navajo, how could I not love silver and turquoise?"
          From silver cast in the lost-wax tradition to lapis lazuli inlaid with diamonds, his jewelry is a bridge from the traditional Navajo style to contemporary design. Ray is currently focusing on works made by fusing platinum and gold. "When I fuse platinum with gold, I first heat the platinum to 3,000 degrees, then cool it to 1,950 degrees, and then drop in the gold."