History of Black Hills Gold

Black hills gold jewelry is any piece of handcrafted heirloom jewelry distinguishable by its tri-colored gold leaves, grapevine and flower accents. The history of this jewelry dates as far back as the 1800s.

Legend of Black Hills Gold Jewelry

According to the legend, a French goldsmith named Henri Le Beau became lost during the "gold rush days" of the middle 1870s in the Black Hills of South Dakota and fell asleep believing he was dying of thirst and starvation. During a dream, he saw a mountain stream with grapevines growing on its banks.

Upon awakening, he walked over a rise and found the stream and grapevines just as he had in his dream and, out of gratitude, dedicated his life and talents to creating jewelry in the shapes of grape clusters and leaves fashioned in rose, green and yellow gold. The style of jewelry actualized by LeBeau has become a tradition, and today’s jewelry reflects much of its original design—with a wide range of new variations.

Today a series of 40 different steps are necessary to capture the same dramatic detail in our traditional and contemporary designs.