Indigenous to the United States, Egypt, Pursia, Tibet, and China, turquoise has been highly sought after for many years and is highly recognized all across the world for its beauty and eye appeal.
The oldest mine, Cerillos Turquoise Mine, is found in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Native American Pueblo people used antlers and stone mauls to dig deep into the ground to mine the precious turquoise. Turquoise is the gemstone for New Mexico as well as the birthstone of December
Turquoise generally forms in arid climates, often being found in the southwest United States. Each turquoise mine is marketed by its name, such as Cerillos, Bisbee, Sleeping Beauty, Kingman, Morenci, Number 8, Royston, Pilot Mountain, and Blue Gem.
When shopping for turquoise jewelry there are some basic things to understand and to keep in consideration. Turquoise (hydrous cupric aluminum phosphate) is a porous stone that has various hardnesses and many colors, ranging from all shade of green to all shades of blue.
Five “Kinds” of TurquoiseNatural turquoise – turquoise that is so hard and beautiful that it is simply mined, cut, polished and set into a piece of jewelry or sculpture (less than 3% of turquoise on the market is natural). Stabilized turquoise – soft or “chalk” turquoise has been infused with a clear epoxy resin. The resin, under pressure, absorbs into the rock, which permanently hardens the rock and deepens the color. Unlike the collectible natural turquoise which deepens in color over time by gradually absorbing oils from the skin as it is worn, the colors in stabilized turquoise are permanent. Most of the turquoise on the market is stabilized and should not cost as much as natural. Treated turquoise – soft or “chalk” turquoise that is stabilized as described above, except that the epoxy resin is also dyed. Colors in treated turquoise have a tendency to look artificial. Reconstituted turquoise – turquoise “chalk” that is very low grade and has been ground into powder, saturated with epoxy resin, dyed, and compressed into blocks or cakes to be cut into shapes for jewelry making. Imitation turquoise – there is no turquoise in this category. Either there are stones like howlite (white stone, very porous) dyed to look like turquoise or there is pure plastic (epoxy resin) that has been dyed to look like turquoise. |