I am sure that many of us run into confusion where Turquoise Genuine and look alike is concerned. Thanks also for the article about Turquoise. I learned a lot from reading it. In that article it says turquoise has been around for years but she also says that it was found in B. Which actually means it has been around for years because that is how long ago B.
Thanks Dale for always keeping us so well informed, with a little fun thrown in along the way!! Happy Jewelry Making!!
Deb Weller. I saw one vendor that claims his purple turquoise is Kingman Turquoise with dye added to make it purple. I can well believe that old prospector used that stabilizing method! They find similar howlite or magnesite with the proper names in my store and get upset. Have you heard those? A local vendor recently sold me some and when I looked it up what I saw looked nothing like turquoise, so I thought he was dishonest or lacking in his knowledge.
I had decided it must be Howlite, but now I know it most likely is Magnesite. I always learn something helpful from this website! Maybe this is why!!! What a sucker I feel like…. Thanks for the info. I have to say I did sell a piece with that name describing the beads, but I never quite sat well with it. Discovered later it was what I thought it looked like — howlite! I just assumed that they were not real turquoise and have labeled them as not real. I guess they must have been howlite, but obviously not real turquoise.
Why do they call it turquoise? What great information! I, for one, only buy my turq directly from a couple of mine owners that I am lucky enough to know they also sell on Ebay…so do not despair. The obvious higher price on these stones and the full description and provenance of each stone is surety of what you are buying. Customers have actually bought some of those pieces to wear with their good turq earrings!
When I am in doubt about a stone, I try to err on the side of safety, and like Dale said, I give those pieces their own individual names. The lower price I charge also makes it obvious they are not turq as I sell both. Turquoise is a beautiful sought after stone for eons now. It is not in limitless supply and it can be found in many places in the world.
Because it is such high demand, many less scrupulous sellers will sell a not true natural turquoise as turquoise, so like Dale, I suggest that you learn as much as you can and if your really want the genuine article, but only from reputable sellers.
Good turquoise is not cheap. Cheap turquoise is not often good. There are some less expensive turquoises that are natural genuine turquoise from China, Tibet and a few other places, but what you pay for is what you get.
If you like the stone, then enjoy it. Just try not to sell a piece of dyed manganese, or howlite,as genuine turquoise. Try not to buy the kind of turquoise that Dale described either, unless you like it and it is for you.
It take a long time to learn all there is about turquoise, but you can learn enough to get what you really want buy doing as much research as you can. Your library or local book store can help and so can internet searches for information on turquoise. Good luck. I recently bought 2 rings. Is there even such a thing? Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that there is only one source for this particular type of Turquoise.
That source is from the Kingman mine in Arizona. Purple Turquoise starts out as stabilized Blue Kingman Turquoise. There is not a vein of purple Turquoise that was discovered at the mine! It is dyed purple and then goes through a Bronze fusion process that creates a shiny bronze color to the matrix. It is then formed, polished and set in necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc.
As far as I can determine, the Kingman mine is the only mine authorized to process their Turquoise in this manner. It was not very interesting and again not considered to be of much value. Things changed in when a thin vein of sugilite was found in a core-drill sample from a manganese mine near Hotazel, South Africa.
This stone was very purple in color because of the manganese content. This vein did not produce much rock but it was enough to be considered the first source of gem quality sugilite.
In , a massive deposit estimated at tons was found near Hotazel. This deposit is located feet underground and is very hard to mine. At this location a very rare find of translucent sugilite was found and called "sugilite gel". This is a very rare and valuable stone. During my travels, I hear from the rock hounds and the vendors the term "Old Sugilite" and "New Sugilite". All I could gather is that "old" is more desirable than "new", although all sugilite is collectable and rare to find.
I recently met a South African woman at a gem show. She had the rough sugilite stone below for sale. She called it "Old Sugilite". I asked her why I kept hearing this "old" and "new" reference out there. She explained that the mine at Hotazel is always under turmoil and the land is under the control of gangs and bad people that have pretty much closed the mine.
Hardly anything is coming out of it now and the same has been for many years. No one knows if it will ever be operational again. Due to the technical difficulty in extracting the gemstone from the mine, most of the vein remains underground. It is known to be of the darkest grape jelly color. The darker, the better. I did not purchase the stone above. It was several hundred dollars and I do not know how to do lapidary work, but I kind of regret leaving it behind. This sugilite is still beautiful but is not as intense in color.
It is still highly collected.
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