Gem Profile- Turquoise Types

by Judy Ellis

As we learned last week, Turquoise is not only a beautiful blue color, but also a stone and a gem! Turquoise has been prized through the ages for protection, healing and of course jewelry making.

Turquoise poses challenges as a soft stone.

Finding quality pieces for cutting and polishing proves difficult.

It fades to green or develops white "bloom" from sweat, chemicals, cosmetics, and environment.

Ancient treatments used thin oil or wax coatings to preserve color and longevity.

Matrix veins (black or brown) were avoided, as they caused cracking and integrity loss over time.

Robin Taconet wire wrapped these turquoise beads into a lovely pendant necklace.

Society advanced turquoise technology to address its softness.

Key types include natural, enhanced, stabilized, reconstituted, fracture-sealed, artificial, synthetic, block, boulder, and white buffalo turquoise.

Emails prompted explanations some today, more next Friday to wrap the series.

Irisha Patterson selected turquoise stones with pyrite inclusions, wrapping this cabochon set in sterling silver and 14kt gold-filled wire.

Karen McCoun wire wrapped this gorgeous turquoise nugget into a fitting silver ring.

What is Natural Turquoise?

Natural turquoise remains untreated stone.

Less than 1% of mined turquoise qualifies as usable in this state.

It cuts and polishes without cracking but fades green over time from light, sweat, and environment.

Your great-grandmother's green-tinted piece likely started as genuine natural turquoise.

Shawnea Hardy, wire wrapping under a year, made this pro reversible cabochon: greenish turquoise in antique copper craft wire.

Enhanced Turquoise

Enhanced turquoise is a natural stone treated with chemicals and heat, or just heat.

This enhances color and hardens the stone.

It prevents fading over time and increases market supply of durable turquoise.

Enhancing does not reduce the stone's value.

Stones treated with wax or oil, as in ancient times, count as enhanced too. They get a protective coating to preserve color.

Terri McMahon embellished this triskele and spiral leather bracelet.

She used turquoise and rutilated nuggets with copper wire.

Stabilized Turquoise

Stabilized turquoise is a common term at gem shows.

Stabilization, or fracture filling, impregnates soft turquoise with resin or polymer.

This hardens stones with weak matrix or cracks.

It improves polish and extends color life.

Judy Copeland wrapped this Iraqi-mined turquoise cabochon in Argentium Silver wire.

She called it "Mystic Turquoise."

Judy made this pendant for a December birthday friend, who loved it.

Stabilization is a closely guarded secret in the lapidary community.

Some use a polymer like that in airplane windows. Others soak it in epoxy and acetone.

Many recipes and techniques exist.

Some companies add dye to deepen color during stabilization.

Stabilized turquoise is lower in value than natural or enhanced.

It remains a true gem.

Lauri Ennis created this beaded turquoise necklace and earrings set.

She used turquoise beads, leather, and wire.

Boulder Turquoise

Boulder turquoise is a thin vein of turquoise in the mother rock.

When mining, turquoise comes from veins in the ground.

Some host rock gets discarded, but holds small turquoise seams.

Someone saw potential in these rocks.

They cut and polished to show both turquoise and its rock.

Voila! Boulder turquoise!

Koier VanDyke wrapped this turquoise heart in copper wire.

She accented it with coral beads, Swarovski crystals, copper saucer beads, and a gold freshwater pearl.

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