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As a microcrystalline mineral, turquoise does not lend itself to sharply chiseled facets like diamonds, rubies, tourmalines, and other gemstones. Instead, the predominantly blue, sometimes green, mineral is often carved into cameos, polished into...
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As a microcrystalline mineral, turquoise does not lend itself to sharply chiseled facets like diamonds, rubies, tourmalines, and other gemstones. Instead, the predominantly blue, sometimes green, mineral is often carved into cameos, polished into beads and cabochons, or engraved and then inlaid with gold. Many varieties of turquoise are quite porous, which is why turquoise is often waxed or coated with resin to protect the stone from being damaged while worn. Taking that practice a step further, much of the turquoise that’s on the market today is made from turquoise dust that’s been mixed with resin and heated until hardened. This material is then cut into shapes for use by a jeweler—not surprisingly, this sort of manufactured turquoise sells for far less than naturally formed turquoise. A hydrous copper aluminum phosphate, turquoise is found in dry regions, usually forming as a vein of stone in a crack within limonite or sandstone. Copper is mostly what gives turquoise its color—think of the patina of copper architectural details that have been exposed to the elements—which is why turquoise is often found in copper mines, from the Nishapur district of Iran to the Mexican state of Sonora just south of the American states of Arizona and New Mexico. In fact, although turquoise gets its name from the French phrase pierre Turquoise or “stone of Turkey” because so much turquoise passed north from Iran through that country, the American Southwest is closely associated with the mineral—there, it tends to be greener than the “Persian blue” examples in the Middle East. For the most part, turquoise mined in the Americas is also riddled with veins, the darker ones composed of limonite, the tan ones of sandstone. These veins are usually referred to as the stone’s matrix, which, if pleasing to the eye, are called “spiderweb” turquoise. In Southwest jewelry, particularly those designed by members of the Hopi, Navajo, Pueblo, and Zuni tribes, turquoise is set within
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All About Jewels Dictionary
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