Show me your turquoise jewelry!

[theredspinel]

lol You're too cute. So this is where going through hundreds and hundreds of stones comes in. There's just no substitute for it, and you'll get there. I can give you some great reading material to order from Amazon though, if you'd like? Mind you, some stones origins can't be ascertained just by looking at the piece, even if you're a veteran turq collector. But certain stones are very obvious. And that one is classic hubei. It's the color, luster, and matrix that tell the story. If I weren't 150% sure, I'd definitely give a disclaimer. But isn't it lovely?!

Arrrghh I just LOVE the research part of buying a gemstone my heart truly loves, I am loving this!!! Yes please on the Amazon book, I am saving all the links you’re sending but it always takes time to be able to sit with my phone and not get distracted by personal messages, long enough to read anything so getting lost in a book is a much quicker method of learning!

The hubei is indeed lovely; you know, it’s this conversation that’s got me appreciating matrix. I never saw the appeal of it until this very conversation and all the subsequent lovely pieces everyone has shared! (I really need to go back to the beginning of this thread and read/look properly, I jumped in on the last page :/ )

All this beautiful turquoise in general has expanded my mind further out from the ‘standard’ classic SB turquoise… and I’m so thankful for it. It’s weird I never appreciated matrix in turquoise, but do in many other opaque cab type minerals i.e azurite/chrysocolla being a firm second favourite to turquoise! (Oh no, I also have to add Larimar to that favourites list too… )

Ps must say I do move fast when I’m motivated I’m speaking to a gallery later today (apparently the first that opened up in the uk to highlight North American tribal jewellery from the Kewa Pebulo tribe) just to have a chat; they’re a bit of a drive from me but I’m going to love hearing from them later today! And I checked out that Etsy shop you sent me (I need the full range of smilies - insert ‘fainted from too much beauty’ smily here LOL) AND the Etsy shop you linked to in the other “help me find turquoise” thread

I am just *itching* to buy something small to tide me over whilst I enjoy all this reading! Right I’ll stop blabbering!! Looking forward to that Amazon recommendation, thank you again

 

[FL_runner]

I wanted to let @Autumn in New England know that I have really appreciated the last few posts highlighting different mines and types of turquoise! It's one of my favorite stones and I really want to add to my collection as it's definitely too small My Schlumberger Egg was a bucket list item for me and I definitely love the look of some shades of turquoise in yellow gold, but have more items set in silver.

 

[2Neesers]

Seeing everyone’s gorgeous turquoise pieces reminded me that I had this strand on found on FB Marketplace tucked away since I wasn‘t sure if it was genuine or not. @Autumn in New England I’m hoping you or any of the other turquoise experts could pretty please weigh in .
The person I bought it from said it was purchased in Bisbee and included the sweet note. I bought this during the height of the pandemic when everything was contact free and it was tucked under her front porch rug. I cut off a nugget and tried a couple of test I read about online, it passed the acetone and hot needle test. I’m really not sure what else I could do to determine if it’s real, but I might restring it at some point and put a nice clasp on it either way.

 

[Autumn in New England]

@theredspinel Your post just makes me so giddy... I'm thrilled you're having fun with this! That's what it's all about. And I feel like we all start out liking the really clean blue stones first, i.e. SBT. I know I did. I hated matrixed turq! Now it's all I buy. The material can be huge too, which I love. The clean stones tend to be smaller, of course, which is nice sometimes too, especially for accent stones.

Too funny... I don't waste any time either, my friend! And this forum has the most shameless bunch of enablers. I'm so looking forward to meeting your first conquest. Good luck!

I am going to look at my books tonight, and will be back in touch with titles!! Yay!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

@2Neezers Oh honey, first of all... they're genuine turq. Period. 100%. No question. Further, I can tell you with relative certainty and a high degree of confidence that those are gem-grade sleeping beauty turq beads. SBT nuggets have a very unique look to them. Wow, wow, wow. Kudos, my friend!! I am a master bead stringer (for lack of a better word... ), so if you ever have a mind to make them into a proper necklace (what you have there is a "temporary strand"), I would be happy to help. Is that even allowed here? lol

 

[Autumn in New England]

I wanted to let @Autumn in New England know that I have really appreciated the last few posts highlighting different mines and types of turquoise! It's one of my favorite stones and I really want to add to my collection as it's definitely too small My Schlumberger Egg was a bucket list item for me and I definitely love the look of some shades of turquoise in yellow gold, but have more items set in silver.

Aww so glad to be of use... thanks for saying so! I'd love to see your other beauties too!!

 

[2Neesers]

@2Neezers Oh honey, first of all... they're genuine turq. Period. 100%. No question. Further, I can tell you with relative certainty and a high degree of confidence that those are gem-grade sleeping beauty turq beads. SBT nuggets have a very unique look to them. Wow, wow, wow. Kudos, my friend!! I am a master bead stringer (for lack of a better word... ), so if you ever have a mind to make them into a proper necklace (what you have there is a "temporary strand"), I would be happy to help. Is that even allowed here? lol

Really!?! That is such great news!! I am guessing she toured the old mine in Bisbee and then bought these at a nearby gift shop. I’m so glad I took a chance on them!
I quickly looked up sleeping beauty turquoise bead strands and it does look like that‘s what they are. I see prices seem to vary depending on the seller... I paid $50 and usually wouldn’t take a chance, but at that time I was stuck at home so much and thought it would be something fun to do, to see if they ended up being the real deal. Thank you for offering to restring the strand into a proper necklace! I’m definitely thinking about having it done since they are real. I was wondering why the clasp was an inexpensive twist clasp, but now it makes sense that it was a temporary strand.
Thank you so much for looking at them and for the good news!

 

[Autumn in New England]

@2Neezers Oh yes... the SB mine is also in AZ, so they probably made their way to the touristy Bisbee area for sale. They're definitely not from one of the Bisbee mines; that's for sure. You are most welcome. What a pleasure to see them!

lol $50? Yeah, you got a deal. I've paid 10x that amount, and I'm sure there are even more expensive comparable strands out there. They look chunky... what are the dimensions of the largest bead, and how long is the strand?

You let me know if you ever want me to string them (not sure how we'd go about exchanging contact info... if that's even allowed). I would only charge you for the cost of the materials (silver or gold). I'd happily string them for free. Congrats again on such a great find!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

@theredspinel Here are a few titles to get you started!

Turquoise Unearthed

Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone

The Art of Turquoise

The Allure of Turquoise

Turquoise Mines, Minerals, and Wearable Art

Indian Jewelry of the American Southwest

Turquoise Jewelry

Navajo Jewelry

Enjoy!!

 

[2Neesers]

@2Neezers Oh yes... the SB mine is also in AZ, so they probably made their way to the touristy Bisbee area for sale. They're definitely not from one of the Bisbee mines; that's for sure. You are most welcome. What a pleasure to see them!

lol $50? Yeah, you got a deal. I've paid 10x that amount, and I'm sure there are even more expensive comparable strands out there. They look chunky... what are the dimensions of the largest bead, and how long is the strand?

You let me know if you ever want me to string them (not sure how we'd go about exchanging contact info... if that's even allowed). I would only charge you for the cost of the materials (silver or gold). I'd happily string them for free. Congrats again on such a great find!!

@Autumn in New England I’m so glad it was a deal! The strand is 22” long and the largest bead is around 19mm x 9mm. I think it might look chunkier in my pictures than in person. The beads are what I’d consider medium in size, but I honestly haven‘t seen any others in person to know for sure.
I really appreciate you offering to string them! That’s very generous! I don’t think exchanging info is technically allowed, but I think sometime people connect through Loupe Troop. I’m going to wait a little while to do anything with the strand, since I’ve never actually wore a string of beads before. I love the look! I’m just not sure how often I’d wear them, so I’m going to take a little time and look up some other ideas for using the beads. Another fun project to think about . I’m going to check out the titles you mentioned above as well!

 

[stracci2000]

@Autumn in New England
I hope you don't mind me asking your opinion on this piece!
This pin/pendant was given to me 20 years ago by an old lady named Harriet. It looks like it has gold matrix. Definitely yellow colored, not silvery like pyrite. What do you think?

 

[Autumn in New England]

@Autumn in New England I’m so glad it was a deal! The strand is 22” long and the largest bead is around 19mm x 9mm. I think it might look chunkier in my pictures than in person. The beads are what I’d consider medium in size, but I honestly haven‘t seen any others in person to know for sure.
I really appreciate you offering to string them! That’s very generous! I don’t think exchanging info is technically allowed, but I think sometime people connect through Loupe Troop. I’m going to wait a little while to do anything with the strand, since I’ve never actually wore a string of beads before. I love the look! I’m just not sure how often I’d wear them, so I’m going to take a little time and look up some other ideas for using the beads. Another fun project to think about . I’m going to check out the titles you mentioned above as well!

That still sounds like good sized beads! SBT isn't often found in large nuggets. And they look like a nice blue too. I will post some pix of necklaces I've strung to give you some ideas! Enjoy those beauties!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Hi @stracci2000! So this is one of those stones that's a little less obvious. However, pyrite can definitely be gold in color. If I had to give an educated guess based on the color of the turq and matrix tone/texture/shape, I would say the stone is morenci. I see some quartz in there too. It's beautiful!!

 

[stracci2000]

Hi @stracci2000! So this is one of those stones that's a little less obvious. However, pyrite can definitely be gold in color. If I had to give an educated guess based on the color of the turq and matrix tone/texture/shape, I would say the stone is morenci. I see some quartz in there too. It's beautiful!!

Yay! I've always loved it. I have some Morenci in my cuff bracelet shown in post #226.
Thanks for your assessment!
I need to double down on my turquoise knowledge.......

 

[Autumn in New England]

It's a very unique stone, @stracci2000! Enjoy!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

So here are some bead necklaces I've strung... hope you guys like them!

This is commercial grade Chinese... I still love this thing in all its stabilized glory.



Stabilized kingman... huge nuggets!



High-grade untreated SBT...



Also untreated SBT... very clean, but the color leans a bit aqua. I prefer the pure blues in this material. Chunky nuggets though.



Stabilized deep blue kingman...



This is the only turq bead necklace I strung with gold (18ky)... it's from Sinai. The center bead is about an inch. Graduating the bead size is as hard as it looks!



And then I just wanted to share a few torsades I strung for fun... this one has all natural stones. They are kingman turq, Mediterranean red coral, orange spiny oyster shell, purple charoite, green variscite, yellow calcite, and lapis.



This guy is all Mediterranean red coral that I purchased at a fantastic price from Sheila at San Francisco House.

 

[yssie]

Oh my goodness. Just chiming in to say @Autumn in New England - THANK YOU for sharing your expertise here!! I’ve learnt so much about turquoise in the last hour alone, from reading your posts!!

And if I might be another colossally rude newbie and interrupt the thread to ask a question of my own… I’ve got a bracelet of SBT (round beads, ~8mm) that I impulse-bought. They were advertised as “untreated”, and I trust the vendor not to mislead knowingly, but I was thinking just the other day I’d really like to get that verified.

Is there a lab that you recommend for turquoise? My plan was GIA, since I’m sending some other stones out, but I would love any suggestions you may have. I would want to know about colour treatments, any other treatments, and stabilization (I guess I should be keeping those two terms separate!).

 

[theredspinel]

So here are some bead necklaces I've strung... hope you guys like them!

This is commercial grade Chinese... I still love this thing in all its stabilized glory.



Stabilized kingman... huge nuggets!



High-grade untreated SBT...



Also untreated SBT... very clean, but the color leans a bit aqua. I prefer the pure blues in this material. Chunky nuggets though.



Stabilized deep blue kingman...



This is the only turq bead necklace I strung with gold (18ky)... it's from Sinai. The center bead is about an inch. Graduating the bead size is as hard as it looks!



And then I just wanted to share a few torsades I strung for fun... this one has all natural stones. They are kingman turq, Mediterranean red coral, orange spiny oyster shell, purple charoite, green variscite, yellow calcite, and lapis.



This guy is all Mediterranean red coral that I purchased at a fantastic price from Sheila at San Francisco House.

Thank you very much for the book titles @Autumn in New England I’m going to get hunting as soon as I post this!

I LOVE this above post - it’s so informative!! Love the fact you’re showing untreated and treated; can I try to be the teachers pet and hazard a guess at one of the ways you might tell the difference between high grade absolutely no treatment and lower grade treated… does the not treated look a bit ‘gummy/softer’ for want of a better word?!

To my eyes (and I’ve been scanning and scanning these above pics haha) the difference is a bit like between hard and (still hard) but softer plastic? Like the not treated has the high shine and is obviously harder then the other material but it *looks* more malleable almost? Malleable rather then crumbly.

 

[theredspinel]

Ok I’ve come across the term *white water turquoise* in my reading around, I came back here to cross reference with your first post with lots of mine names @Autumn in New England ; is this the same turquoise as the water web kingman? I don’t think it’s dry creek because it was described as medium blue.

The text had no accompanying picture but when I google search it, it brings up water web. Apparently it’s a relatively new find from Mexico?

 

[theredspinel]

Ok I’ve come across the term *white water turquoise* in my reading around, I came back here to cross reference with your first post with lots of mine names @Autumn in New England ; is this the same turquoise as the water web kingman? I don’t think it’s dry creek because it was described as medium blue.

The text had no accompanying picture but when I google search it, it brings up water web. Apparently it’s a relatively new find from Mexico?

Too late to edit original post, I’ve found somewhere where it says white water turquoise is from the Campitos mine.

This is presented as it: (and it does say completely natural but it’s a UK seller so I think legally natural here - unlike in America - doesn’t exclude stabilisation). Would love to have your opinion on this @Autumn in New England in regards to stabilisation - I don’t really think I want to buy the ring but looking at lots and lots of pictures is definitely enlightening! My fully ignorant guess would say stabilised?

 

[FL_runner]

So here are some bead necklaces I've strung... hope you guys like them!

This is commercial grade Chinese... I still love this thing in all its stabilized glory.



Stabilized kingman... huge nuggets!



High-grade untreated SBT...



Also untreated SBT... very clean, but the color leans a bit aqua. I prefer the pure blues in this material. Chunky nuggets though.



Stabilized deep blue kingman...



This is the only turq bead necklace I strung with gold (18ky)... it's from Sinai. The center bead is about an inch. Graduating the bead size is as hard as it looks!



And then I just wanted to share a few torsades I strung for fun... this one has all natural stones. They are kingman turq, Mediterranean red coral, orange spiny oyster shell, purple charoite, green variscite, yellow calcite, and lapis.



This guy is all Mediterranean red coral that I purchased at a fantastic price from Sheila at San Francisco House.

Omg love this all!

If I take the plunge and buy some beads you will totally give me a tutorial in stringing them, right???

 

[stracci2000]

So here are some bead necklaces I've strung... hope you guys like them!

This is commercial grade Chinese... I still love this thing in all its stabilized glory.



Stabilized kingman... huge nuggets!



High-grade untreated SBT...



Also untreated SBT... very clean, but the color leans a bit aqua. I prefer the pure blues in this material. Chunky nuggets though.



Stabilized deep blue kingman...



This is the only turq bead necklace I strung with gold (18ky)... it's from Sinai. The center bead is about an inch. Graduating the bead size is as hard as it looks!



And then I just wanted to share a few torsades I strung for fun... this one has all natural stones. They are kingman turq, Mediterranean red coral, orange spiny oyster shell, purple charoite, green variscite, yellow calcite, and lapis.



This guy is all Mediterranean red coral that I purchased at a fantastic price from Sheila at San Francisco House.

These are divine!!!!!
(I'm running to the jewelry stash to dig out my strands right now......)
And I want to thank you @Autumn in New England for reigniting this turquoise discussion, it so refreshing!
I mean, I love gold and diamonds, but Native American and turquoise is a whole other ballgame!

 

[2Neesers]

So here are some bead necklaces I've strung... hope you guys like them!

This is commercial grade Chinese... I still love this thing in all its stabilized glory.



Stabilized kingman... huge nuggets!



High-grade untreated SBT...



Also untreated SBT... very clean, but the color leans a bit aqua. I prefer the pure blues in this material. Chunky nuggets though.



Stabilized deep blue kingman...



This is the only turq bead necklace I strung with gold (18ky)... it's from Sinai. The center bead is about an inch. Graduating the bead size is as hard as it looks!



And then I just wanted to share a few torsades I strung for fun... this one has all natural stones. They are kingman turq, Mediterranean red coral, orange spiny oyster shell, purple charoite, green variscite, yellow calcite, and lapis.



This guy is all Mediterranean red coral that I purchased at a fantastic price from Sheila at San Francisco House.

Your bead necklaces are gorgeous!!
This has given me so many ideas of what I could do with my strand. I love the aqua color of your SBT! All of your pieces are so beautiful!

 

[stracci2000]

Your bead necklaces are gorgeous!!
This has given me so many ideas of what I could do with my strand. I love the aqua color of your SBT! All of your pieces are so beautiful!

That's a gorgeous strand. The color is scrumptious!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Hi @yssie! Thanks so much!! So the GIA will likely use a spectroscope to test whether the beads have been impregnated with resin. I did want to mention that there is another stabilization process called the "Zachary Method." It uses electrical impulses to harden softer turq (it does not use epoxy). This treatment, to my knowledge, is not detectable by any lab. So here's the thing, I wouldn't worry about it. If the seller said the turq is untreated, treat it as such. Make sure to thoroughly wipe it clean after each use so no oils, perfumes, or products are absorbed by the turq (this may cause a change in color from blue to green over the years). And think of it like this, if the beads are in fact treated, you don't have to worry about any of that. I actually prefer treated turq when we're talking about beads, because they're in constant contact with the skin (as opposed to a pendant stone backed with silver or gold). I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd love to see a photo of your beautiful bracelet!

P.S. I wouldn't be too concerned about color treatments. Though lower grade Chinese material is often dyed, American turquoise is really ever color enhanced. It's simply not done. It stone's are stabilized, a colorless resin is used. Dyed turq is EXTREMELY obvious.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Good afternoon, @theredspinel! So judging treatment can be a bit difficult to do through photos. And, in person, it's really sort of an intuitive thing after handling lots of turq over the years. But I will try to put it into words. Color, luster, and matrix (if present) help me in analyzing a stone. I'll use kingman as an example. It comes in pure blues, but they're typically a vibrant sky shade when untreated (it naturally comes in dark blues too, but that's another story). When kingman is impossibly, electric blue, I typically find the stone is treated. Gem grade (hard) natural turq does take a high polish, so that in and of itself is not an indicator. But the finish will look more glassy when natural, and color depth will be crisp. When stabilized, the color may look a bit "translucent" with a gel-like depth, and the finish may appear "plasticized." The same might be true for the matrix (the depth of color may be altered to, as if the mineral were wet.) Does this help at all? I may try to post photos of examples.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Too late to edit original post, I’ve found somewhere where it says white water turquoise is from the Campitos mine.

This is presented as it: (and it does say completely natural but it’s a UK seller so I think legally natural here - unlike in America - doesn’t exclude stabilisation). Would love to have your opinion on this @Autumn in New England in regards to stabilisation - I don’t really think I want to buy the ring but looking at lots and lots of pictures is definitely enlightening! My fully ignorant guess would say stabilised?

I love white water turquoise! And it is indeed from Mexico. This material can go either way. It is available in high grade natural material, and I've also seen stabilized material. This appears to be gem grade turq to me... whatever the case, this is a really desirable, collectible stone, my friend. The webbing is fabulous (which, by the mine name, you can tell this stone is know for it). It is gorgeous! I would consider it. I'm a sucker for that water webbing.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Omg love this all!

If I take the plunge and buy some beads you will totally give me a tutorial in stringing them, right???

hee hee Of course! Stringing is the easy part, clamping off the ends and adding the closures is the tricky part. I am all about making ensuring the necklace is 100% secure!! I double clamp!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Your bead necklaces are gorgeous!!
This has given me so many ideas of what I could do with my strand. I love the aqua color of your SBT! All of your pieces are so beautiful!

Oh I'm so excited for you, my friend!! Keep us posted!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Thank you, @stracci2000!! And please give 2Neezers the credit because she directed me to this wonderful thread!!

I couldn't agree more... I'm often torn about which I love more. We have our blingy, faceted, transparent CS and diamonds and gold (oh my). Then we have this really rich, organic looking, opaque class of gems, like turq, in gleaming sterling silver. I feel so close to nature when I wear it, especially with the deep respect we all have for the Native people in our country. Plus, it's so much more affordable for the highest quality material. But the good news is we don't have to choose... we can give some love to both!