Turquoise - Its Rich Colors & how to buy Quality Turquoise

     Turquoise

Turquoise is mostly used in jewelry. It is opaque and comes in various hues of bright blue, sky-blue, pale green, blue-green, turquoise-blue, apple-green, and green-gray. The more presence of copper in it   makes it be more on the green side. It is found all over the world but two mines nearby to each other can have a very different look from each other depending on the additional minerals that streak through it as in the stones above: the first group has no streaks and is a sky blue (comes from the Sleeping Beauty Mine) and the second is heavily veined but both are mined in Arizona.   

What does it mean to have “stabilized” turquoise? This is a process that does a kind of “curing” of the stone. It both hardens the stone, turquoise is soft and can break easily, and it “sets” the color. It is important to “set” the color of turquoise which, over time, absorbs the oils on a person’s skin and will darken the natural color.  It is not necessary to dye turquoise unless the seller is trying to fool the buyer into thinking it is a higher quality turquoise because the best quality turquoise is darker and richer.  Yes, stabilized turquoise can also be dyed and that is not something you want to buy in a quality turquoise stone. However, you really need a stabilization process on the stone that is quality to protect and preserve the stone. About 97% of ALL turquoise on the market is stabilized.

Now, you must be careful that you are buying a stone that has ONLY been stabilized and one where the color has not been dyed to make it appear to be a higher quality stone.  A stone called Howlite, for example, is often dyed a turquoise color and passed off as “real” turquoise to unsuspecting buyers.  If you are purchasing an expensive piece of jewelry and you are not sure, get the seller to certify that the stone has not been enhanced in any way (only stabilized).   

I advise that when in the market for turquoise, your need to spend a little time at a quality gem shop and educate yourself about the colors and quality of the stone. To become fairly fluent with the varieties and colors of turquoise does not take a lot of time and can be a fun afternoon out.                             

Turquoise has been used for thousands of years and appears in crowns and headdresses that have been found in archaeological digs all over the world. It has long been attributed to bring wisdom and protection to its owner. The Tibetan Shamans use it protect someone seeking enlightenment in the spiritual world and to protect property from theft or damage in the physical world.

Turquoise can: ground and balance a person; provide protection; heal spiritual trauma; further peace of mind; allow love to come; give a way to communicate on emotional issues, on creativity and on intuition.

Buying a piece of turquoise jewelry can enhance you in many ways. It is a gentle and beautiful stone, which is the color of the sky and sometimes a combination of sky and earth.

Written by Sandra Jeffs http://finessejewelry.net/blogs/education