Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Love that Turquoise

I love Turquoise. It's a wonderful gem material that plays well with so many other colors. Red, White and Turquoise is one of my favorite summer color combinations, and Turquoise and Black together are so dramatic they can stop traffic -- or catch every eye.

Naturally, when you think of Turquoise, you think of Southwestern jewelry. Please think outside that taco. Envision yourself wearing earrings of plump Turquoise drops. Or a sleek necklace of slender Turquoise beads and gold accents.

For jewelry such as this, you'll want Turquoise from the United States. Arizona and Nevada Turquoise is the finest in the world. U.S. Turquoise colors range from blue to green. The veining or matrix in U.S. turquoise is so distinctive that U.S. dealers usually can tell you the area from which it was mined -- in the case of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, they even can name the mine itself.


Like most other good things, genuine Turquoise is becoming rare, and quite expensive.

Therefore, imitations and fakes are flooding the market. Watch out for something called "African Turquoise," which actually is dyed jasper, or "Chinese Yellow Turquoise," which is serpentine. Really inexpensive "Turquoise" almost always is imitation, either Magnesite or Howlite that has been dyed, or glass or plastic. If you like it and you can accept that it's fake, try it.

Once at a big gem show, I bought a magnificent 16" strand of graduated Turquoise beads, ranging in size from ping pong ball to raisin. Every bead was perfectly matched and each was as blue as a turquoise crayon. I bargained the dealer down to $30, as that was all I was willing to pay for Howlite. The necklace I made was stunning, and I wore it all summer. The next summer, I remade the necklace with silver, and sold it for $35 as "Imitation Turquoise, but Fun."

Turquoise is fun. It flatters almost every complexion and many clothing colors. Once you try Turquoise, you'll love it just as I do.

1 comment:

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