According to legend, a young Frenchman, named Henri LeBeau, was on his way to California to strike it rich in the gold rush frenzy of the mid 1870’s that had struck the hearts of many men.  He only made it as far as the hills of South Dakota before becoming lost.  Growing weak with hunger and frustration, he fell asleep under a tree and dreamed of the beautiful grapevines and grapes of his homeland growing near the sides of a babbling brook.  He was inspired by his dream to buy gold from other gold miners and create a beautiful tri-colored gold jewelry with hand crafted leaves, grape clusters and vines fashioned in green and rose colored gold and yellow gold - - known today as Black Hills Gold jewelry.  In more recent designs, a crafted rose centerpiece has been added to the traditional pattern.  In addition, to the legend of Black Hills Gold, it is believed that anyone who wears a piece of Black Hills Gold jewelry will have good luck.

The history of Black Hills Gold jewelry actually began in 1874.  An expeditionary force of 1,000 men was lead by the infamous George Armstrong Custer into the Black Hills area, a 1,000 square mile region held sacred by the Sioux.  A few months after the group's arrival, a man named Horatio N. Ross discovered gold along the French Creek in the central Black Hills.  This discovery sparked one of the greatest North American gold rushes.

With the gold rush came settlers.  White settlements of the South Dakota region increased dramatically during this time in American history.  The city of Deadwood grew out of the gold rush era of prospectors, saloons, and legendary figures like Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane.  This historic mining town was also home to S.T. Butler, widely acknowledged as the father of Black Hills Gold jewelry.  The three-color grape leaf style that Butler used may have originated in California during the 1849 gold rush and worked its way eastward through the mining camps of Nevada, Idaho, Montana and finally, the Black Hills.

S.T. Butler’s grandson, Frank L. Thorpe, was a third generation goldsmith artisan who expanded his grandfather's original designs into the hundreds.  In 1919, he formed a partnership with E.O. Lampinen under the name F.L. Thorpe Company.  When the partnership of Thorpe and Lampinen was dissolved, Lampinen operated his own shop in Deadwood under the name of Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing, while Frank continued to operate F.L. Thorpe Company.  In 1944, Ivan Landstrom bought Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing from Lampinen and moved the company from Deadwood to Rapid City, but continued to operate under the name of Black Hills Jewelry Manufacturing.  This company became the creator and manufacturer of Landstrom's Original Black Hills Gold.

Also in the early 1900's, a 16-year-old girl named Clara Arnold learned the art of making Black Hills Gold jewelry from relatives of S.T. Butler.  By the 1940's she owned and operated her own manufacturing plant in Rapid City.  She eventually sold her company to the Stamper family in 1959, and it has since operated under the name Stamper Genuine Black Hills Gold Jewelry.

In the late 70’s and early 80’s several new companies were founded in the communities of the Black Hills area, including South Dakota Gold, Mount Rushmore and Black Hills Gold Jewelry by Coleman.  These new companies brought increased competition and new styles to the marketplace, branching out the original vines of Black Hills Gold tradition.

In the 1980's a federal judge ruled that if a manufacturer wants to call its jewelry Black Hills Gold, then it must manufacture its jewelry in the Black Hills of South Dakota only.  Because of this mandate customers can be guaranteed that their jewelry is handcrafted and made only in America and not imported from another country.

All manufacturer’s in the Black Hills Gold industry still incorporate the intricately hand crafted 10K gold grapes and 12K gold rose and green leaves that were the centerpiece of the inspired traditional jewelry of Henri LeBeau.  To maintain and capture the dramatic detail in the traditional and contemporary Black Hills Gold designs, today's manufacturing process requires a series of up to forty different steps.  Included in these steps are the processes required to form the green and rose gold found in the traditional grape leaves.  To form the green gold the yellow gold is alloyed with silver and zinc while the rose gold is formed by alloying the yellow gold with copper.

Information research source: Gold Outlet's "Black Hills Gold History" page.