There was a time when I had no idea about anything related to turquoise. I thought turquoise was…just turquoise. And then I started getting serious about it and realized that there is so much info to consider when buying the stone or jewelry made with it, that it makes your head spin. Anyways, I feel like I have to start explaining some basic things since I mention them in my jewelry descriptions, and I don’t want people wondering what the heck is that crazy lady talking about.
Let’s start with the basics. What kind of turquoise are you buying when you are looking at jewelry? I bet many are like I was before, turquoise is turquoise is turquoise, and it comes from…where does it come from, anyway? If we are talking about actual turquoise and not imitation (about that later), then it may come from a lot of places.
I love and collect local North American turquoise that comes mostly from the Southwestern mines, and there were and are a lot of mines to learn about.
Various turquoise from my collection
Beautiful Royston Turquoise (US)
Turquoise may also come from other places, for example, Mexico, China (Hubei province is famous for their turquoise) and Iran (and their Persian Turquoise). These are just a few commonly recognized places you may encounter in turquoise discussions.
Spiderweb Chinese Turquoise.
Turquoise treatments
I want to talk about the ways turquoise can be treated before it gets to you. First of all, turquoise comes in either its pure natural state or “not treated” “natural” highest grade (about 3-5% of all turquoise on the market today, and the most expensive), or it is helped along the way, making it more affordable to general public in its treated form.
So, what treatments are there?
1) “Stabilized turquoise”. A lot of lower grade turquoise is somewhat soft ands needs to be hardened before cutting and polishing. There are many ways to stabilize turquoise, usually with epoxy resin applied under pressure to saturate the stone and intensify its otherwise pale color, and modern techniques of true professionals make it impossible to even tell the difference. There is nothing wrong with it, as long as the seller discloses the fact, because stabilized turquoise is cheaper than natural turquoise, and you shouldn’t pay more than what it is worth.
2) “Color-enhanced turquoise”. Speaks for itself, and usually happens at the stage of stabilization.
3) “Reconstituted or block turquoise”. Lowest grade of turquoise is called chalk turquoise, it is ground down to powder, treated with resins and dyes, and formed into blocks. This is the cheapest kind which is used in simple mass-produced knick-knacks. Sometimes it is misrepresented as more expensive turquoise, and buyers should educate themselves before committing to any serious jewelry purchases.
Let’s look at some imitation turquoise. There are two kinds: actual minerals that are dyed to look like turquoise, or man made materials like plastic or glass.
I have two examples of stones that are very popular and affordable turquoise alternatives. You see Magnesite on top: left in its natural state, and dyed on the right. And below we have Howlite, which is a beautiful white stone in its own right, but because of its abundance, quite often used as a dyed turquoise alternative for those on a budget.
Personally, I have no problem with dyed stones AS LONG AS they are described as such, and priced as such. It is really frustrating looking at some items that are listed as turquoise jewelry all over the Internet, and then seeing these dyed stones. Collectors will know, of course, but ordinary unaware people may believe they are buying turquoise jewelry.
But how would you know if you don’t know much about turquoise? I’d say good indicator would be the price. These stones are inexpensive, so jewelry made with them tends to be on a cheaper side as well. That should be one of your clues. Anything too good to be true is exactly that.
Let’s also will look at man-made turquoise, which usually is honestly disclosed as such. I mean, it is hard to pass glass or plastic turquoise as real stones, unlike dyed Magnesite or Howlite that we discussed last time. So, what options are people using nowadays to express their love for turquoise?
1) Glass. Yes, glass. It was and is very popular for beads and such, and some are even thought after by collectors. If I remember correctly, vintage Japanese glass turquoise beads fall in that category.
2) Plastic. I think we all saw those stretch bracelets and cheap jewelry kids love, and they always look very nice in turquoise colors. So, yes, that market is covered as well.
3) Polymer Clay. As of lately there is a lot of interest in making turquoise with polymer clay. There is a number of tutorials, and some artists’ creations are quite interesting, in my opinion.
4) Ceramic. And let’s not forget good old ceramic beads. They existed for centuries, and they still have their place in modern jewelry world.
Let’s talk about a very mysterious stone on the market–Mojave Turquoise. Mysterious, because not many know what it is, but everyone keeps wondering since the stone is very beautiful. But seriously though, is it a gemstone? If yes, then is it turquoise?
I have asked my share of questions, heard lots of wise people’s opinions, and now can let you know what I have learned.
To put it shortly, Mojave Turquoise is a composite product made from real turquoise chips and metal. Intrigued yet? Ok, let’s try to explain it better. You take tiny turquoise chips from the Kingman mines, press them really hard together (with special equipment), add liquid metal (typically bronze), then dye (if a different color is needed) and stabilize, cut into desired shapes and polish. Ok, now, please don’t try it at home, even if it sounds like a very doable thing.
This product is offered only by the Colbaugh family, and they have tried different colors in the past: naturally-colored blue, and dyed options of orange, purple and green. I have heard they even tried black at some point, but the results weren’t too exciting, though I’d be curious to see what they ended up with.
So, as you see, Mojave Turquoise is not natural turquoise, but a turquoise product, I’d say. And to make matters worse, there are some fakes on the market that don’t even have any turquoise whatsoever in them. If you like it and want to use it, then make sure you buy it either directly from the Colbaugh Processing Inc., or from those who bought it from the Colbaugh. Otherwise even I with all my research won’t know what you ended up with.
Have you seen this beautiful stone before? I am sure you have. You probably also heard people calling it White Buffalo Turquoise, but have you ever wondered if the name was true to what the stone was in reality? I know I have. I tried finding reliable information, searched high and low, read different articles and blogs, and it seemed like the jury was still out on this one, with different people thinking it was either Magnesite or Howlite, or even some sort of a rare white turquoise. Well, guess what? I finally saw a lab test result on this one yesterday, and learned some fascinating facts from the person who sent the stone to be tested. And the result? Predominantly CALCITE! That was unexpected, but still extremely interesting. I have a copy if anyone is interested to see it. This stone is also called Opalized Calcite of the Ottesons by those who are familiar with it. The Ottesons are the family that owns the mine this material comes out of. But then, rumor also has it that a new deposit was discovered with this same material, and test results were exactly the same.
By now the name White Buffalo is a widely accepted one for this material, just don’t add Turquoise at the end, because it is NOT.
Now, there is a pale blue (almost white, but not really) very rare turquoise that is called Sacred Buffalo, but it has no connection to White Buffalo.
I know this was a bit too long, but it was tried to answer all possible questions you might have in one post. You are welcome!
