Hopi silverwork is of a more recent vintage than Navajo or Zuni. Early Hopi jewelry was made from natural materials, turquoise, shell, wood, and seeds. Silver working was introduced to the Hopi around 1890 when the Zuni smith Lanyard began to trade some of his silver jewelry among the Hopi, apparently in return for hand-woven native cotton textiles. 

Lanyade eventually taught his craft to a Hopi named Sikyatala. Early hand wrought silver beads, rings, and bracelets made by the Hopi are virtually indistinguishable from those made by Zuni and Navajo smiths. Some Hopi created cast silverwork, as well. But it was not until the 1930s that a distinctive Hopi style emerged, and it developed only with non-native encouragement. 

In 1938 Dr. Harold Colton and his wife Mary Russell Colton of the Museum of Northern Arizona initiated a project encouraging Hopi silversmiths to create a unique type of jewelry that would be instantly recognized as Hopi. 

The result, silver overlay, is today the most widely recognized type of Hopi silverwork. Using designs drawn from traditional pottery, textiles and baskets, Hopi smiths soldered together two sheets of silver after cutting out designs in the top layer so that the under layer is visible.

The under layer is blackened or oxidized and usually textured with chisel marks or stamp work. Turquoise, coral, and other materials occasionally have been set in Hopi overlay jewelry, but for the most part, the elegant silver overlay has stood alone.