Story of Turquoise

TURQUOISE

Type: Minerals

Mohs hardness scale: 5–6

Color: blue, green, turquoise

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Turquoise is a copper-aluminum phosphate. This turquoise-colored mineral is one of the oldest gemstones in the world. It is the national stone of Tibet.

Even ancient Egyptian rulers admired the beauty of turquoise, which adorned their jewelry and treasures. Not only in Egypt but also in China did people fall under the spell of this mineral, which they carved into various pieces of jewelry and sculptures more than three thousand years ago.

For Native Americans, turquoise was an important ritual stone.

The name “turquoise” comes from the French “turcs/turques,” meaning “Turks,” because turquoise was primarily imported into Europe by Turks from Persia. Turquoise was so popular that the English and French adopted the word and began using it to describe the bright, intense blue-green color of the stone.

The presence of limonite causes dark brown to black streaks in turquoise, while sandstone may be responsible for brown spots. These features are referred to as the matrix, and when they form so-called spiderweb patterns, the turquoise becomes a highly sought-after gemstone.

COLOR

Turquoise has a distinctive blue-green color, the intensity and shade of which depend on the amount of copper and iron present. The most beautiful turquoise color is found in Iranian mines (Nishapur district) and is nicknamed “Persian blue.”

Currently, the most sought-after and popular turquoise comes from Arizona (Globe Mine). It has an unusual sky-blue color and was named “Sleeping Beauty Turquoise” after the mountain where it is mined (the mountain’s shape resembles a sleeping woman).

ORIGIN

Iran, Belgium (Ardennes), USA (Apache Canyon Mine—California, Apache Blue Turquoise Mine—Nevada, Kingman, Globe—Arizona), Mexico, Australia, China, Armenia.

USES

Turquoise is used to cut beads and cabochons and is widely used in jewelry making and as a decorative material. Thanks to its softness, turquoise is ideal for carving.

An imitation of turquoise is “turquoise,” which is essentially colored howlite.