[1] The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) was founded in Chicago in 1969.

[2] It was formed after an initial meeting in 1968 of Robert Ebendorf, Phillip Fike,[3] Hero Kielman,[4] L. Brent Kington,[5] Stanley Lechtzin.,[6] Kurt Matzdorf,[7] Ronald Hayes Pearson,[8] and Olaf Skoogfors.

The same year it held its first exhibition at the Minnesota Museum of Art.

It also provides an environment for contemporary jewelers and metalsmiths to share information.

In 1980 SNAG began producing a quarterly magazine entitled Metalsmith.