Turquoise; the Gem for the Ages
Quality Rarity and Demand (as always)... Determine Price
Turquoise today falls into one of three categories... Block, Stabilized and Gem.
Block
Turquoise is quite chalky with almost no color. It is ground into dust, mixed
with resins,
poured into a block and left to cure. It is then removed from the mold and
cut into the desired shape.
The color of Block Turquoise is completely on the surface, with no
depth what so ever... like a
pale blue, plastic toy. Block turquoise is sold by mass marketers and souvenir
shops...
used in costume jewelry.
Stabilized turquoise is a step up. It begins its trip to jewelry already better
quality then block...
while still in its natural, raw, turquoise state the turquoise is pressurized with resin...
resin fills the spaces
between the turquoise molecules.
The
quality of stabilized turquoise, its value and its cost varies greatly. Nature
is beautiful in its
random nature. A gem can reside next to chalk. Very hard gem turquoise with its
tight molecular
structure will not accept much (if any) resin... low grade chalk drinks it up
like a sponge. Both
can reside in the same stabilized rock... part of it can be near gem and very beautiful...
sections of it mundane with obvious traces of resin.
If
you want beautiful blue, green, and blue / green turquoise... that has Deep Lustrous
color and brilliance and marvelous patterns in incredible matrix...
Buy High Grade Gem
Turquoise Jewelry
It
once was said that about 5% of the turquoise on the planet is gem. After over 40
years of
searching, I'm here to tell you that less then 1% is gem. You'll know gem
turquoise when you
find it... gem turquoise is a thing of incredible beauty...
it is
a gift from mother earth
that will spoil you forever.
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Turquoise was first added to
Southwest Native American silver jewelry by Zuni silversmiths
in the mid to
late 1800's. The
Zuni learned to make silver jewelry from the Navajo, who learned
from a
Mexican silversmith who learned from the Spanish.
Most
all turquoise mined in the United States was a result of the copper mining of
the 1900's.
Most of the world's copper mining is now in China. Most all the resulting
turquoise is routinely
stabilized... thankfully, extraordinary specimens sometimes remain
untreated.
Copper gives turquoise its color. Gem
turquoise is very hard, has beautiful color that glows
from
deep within the stone.... that characteristic is called Zat or Brilliance.
Among
the most beautiful Southwest turquoise is Bisbee, Smokey Bisbee, #8,
Morenci,
Carico Lake, Royston, Nevada Blue, Easter Blue, Pilot Mountain, Red
Mountain,
Indian Mountain, Lone Mountain... Kingman, Ithaca Peak, Burnham, Godber,
Orvil Jack and Lander Blue too....
Rare Bisbee Blue Turquoise
Dark Veined Kingman Water Web Turquoise
Boyd Tsosie Lander Blue Turquoise Bracelet
Kingman Water Web Turquoise Belt Buckle by Vernon Haskie
(The piece is sold - this is here as a reference photo)
Exquisite #8... I also heard it attributed to Grandfather Mine... none the less,
it is on the very short list of the most beautiful turquoise I ever saw
Another blow your mind piece of turquoise from the #8 Turquoise Mine
Here we see a totally magnificent #8 (some say Lone Mountain) turquoise gemstone.
It is
without a doubt one of the most beautiful turquoise gems I ever saw.... just
stunning color
and beautiful patterns... without fear of contradiction it's among the
best to
be found on planet Earth.
Rare Turquoise Vintage Jewelry
... "If you ever find more beautiful Smokey Bisbee then this please remember me
when you decide to sell it". That's been a long standing request and
never has
better Smokey Bisbee appeared.
This extraordinary Smokey Bisbee turquoise is set in a Mark Chee bracelet.
Mark
Chee was a top Navajo silversmith of early 1900's.
Of particular note, is the absence of damage to the stone from blasting.
Which may date the stone and bracelet circa 1930. A Rare bird indeed.
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Rare Gem Morenci Robin's Egg Blue Turquoise with Pyrite and dendrites
Lone Mountain Turquoise
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Jerome Arizona Copper Mines and Excavations