Our jewelry
Guaranteed authentic handmade Native American and genuine sterling silver jewelry. We pride ourselves on providing our customers with superior quality sterling silver jewelry at reasonable prices with the largest selection of authentic Native American handmade jewelry in Dallas. You never have to wonder if the metal is sterling silver or the stones are genuine.
Handpicked by us for you. We travel to New Mexico several times each year to choose each piece by hand thus ensuring the quality and authenticity of each piece.
meet us
The Bennett family. Maxine and Scotty Bennett (mother and son), were born and raised in west Texas. They opened their first store on Sherry Lane in Dallas, Texas in 1973 during the Native American jewelry boom. Built into a true family endeavor, Scotty’s now ex-wife Charlotte and Maxine’s daughter Beverly later joined the business. Now, following Maxine’s death, Beverly has brought long-time employee Laura and her middle son, Russell Johnson, in to continue the business making this a third generation family business.
The Castle Gap Team. Our core team and leadership board of three is completed by Laura Thompsen, store manager, and Russell Johnson, Beverly’s son. Laura started out as a customer before switching from a career in printing to work at Castle Gap (while feeding her passion – Native American jewelry). Russell joined the Castle Gap Jewelry team in 2022 as the third generation of the Bennett family to run Castle Gap Jewelry.
The Castle Gap Name. The store was named after the Castle Gap pass through the Castle Mountains in West Texas near where the family grew up. A place steeped in legend, it is said that as many as eight treasures were buried in the Castle Gap pass throughout history including the treasure of Mexican emperor Maximilian. The business was in turn named Castle Gap because it is not only the Bennett family’s greatest treasure, but also holds treasure within for every customer that walks through the door.
maxine Bennett
1920-2022
We celebrate her incredible life and remember her with love
Maxine Bennett, co-founder of Castle Gap Jewelry in University Park passed away peacefully at 102 years old on July 19th, 2022. A fixture in the University Park business community since 1973, Maxine worked in the store daily until the age of 100. Countless customers became family to Maxine over the years – her laugh, her kindness, and her sense of humor are just a few of the wonderful aspects that defined Maxine. Her smiling face, hard driven work ethic, and spunky sense of humor was a constant joyful presence in the store and will be remembered by many.
Maxine, grew up in the small west Texas town of Rankin and learned the value of hard work at an early age. Her first job was dancing the Charleston in the local café for spare change and, if you knew Maxine, this is not hard to believe since it fits her spunky personality to a tee. During her youth, Native American jewelry was popular across the Southwest and was to become Maxine’s passion later in life. She married a man in the oil industry (one of the few industries in the West Texas area at the time), and traveled the world with him living in exotic places as Mozambique, Tunisia, and Singapore.
In 1973, after the unexpected death of her husband, Maxine returned to Texas at age 53. Never one to sit still, she, along with her son Scotty and Scotty’s friend Alan Franks, founded Castle Gap Jewelry in Dallas turning their shared passion for Native American handmade sterling silver jewelry into a family business. Daughter Beverly Bennett joined the business in the 1980’s completing the family circle. Since the beginning, the flagship store has remained within just a few blocks of the very first location opened in University Park in 1973 making Castle Gap Jewelry a true local area business not to mention the oldest business in The Plaza at Preston Center. With a focus on genuine sterling silver and the highest quality authentic Native American jewelry, the Bennett family has led Castle Gap Jewelry to nearly 50 years of success while most competitors have closed their doors in Dallas.
But Maxine’s passion wasn’t only for the jewelry, she cared for the artists and the craft as a whole. “My passion isn’t just for selling beautifully handcrafted jewelry. Through our business we not only help support individual Native American artists and their families, we support traditional Native jewelry making as a whole. Our dream was not only to create a successful business, but use it to help make traditional artistry profitable enough for Native Americans to continue passing on their knowledge and artistry from one generation to the next” said Maxine in an interview. After nearly 50 years in business, the Castle Gap family continues to make a difference. Two favorite charities of Castle Gap Jewelry are Manuelito Navajo Children’s Home in Gallup, New Mexico and the American Indian College Fund to help promote the well being and success of future Native American generations.
How has Castle Gap Jewelry survived the ebb and flow of the fashion industry for over 50 years? Castle Gap’s standards in jewelry quality and customer service have never diminished. Jewelry standards such as strictly carrying genuine sterling silver jewelry (never silver plated) and picking each handmade Native American piece by hand to guarantee the craftsmanship, quality, and authenticity allow customers to buy with confidence. The other unbreakable standard is personalized customer service. Maxine previously expounded “People shop at family owned businesses for a reason – they want friendly and attentive service while putting their money back into the local community instead of big business pockets. We want each person to feel welcome and comfortable here and to leave feeling that we went the extra mile to make them happy. Castle Gap provides jewelry and service that you can’t get just anywhere.”
Now, daughter Beverly with long-time employees and “adopted family” Laura and Sherry, and Beverly’s middle son, Russell Johnson, run the business and continue the Castle Gap family legacy. In a press interview at age 99, Maxine looked toward the future of Castle Gap Jewelry with confidence. “The business will be in good hands once I’m gone.” – Maxine said with a smile and a wink.
A private celebration of life will be held by family and close friends. Invitations will be sent soon. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Manuelito Navajo Children’s Home in Gallup, New Mexico in Maxine’s name. www.mnch.org
