Posted 5 years ago
shareurpas…
(318 items)
Hi all, I'm a little stumped on the turquoise once again. Just thought I'd ask in case anyone here may know if this is Spiderweb or not. It's my understanding that it is and it's said to be High Grade.
Here's the UPDATE!!! OMG I am so excited. So far, I have had two "pros" tell me immediately this is Bisbee Turquoise! I was afraid to think it was because according to many, this is the highest grade and most desirable turquoise there is! At least among the pros anyway. I'm waiting for 1 more verification from someone that has dealt with turquoise and owns a mine and a turquoise shop for more than 50 years. Cross your fingers for me all!!!
***UPDATE #2... The real vote is in. It's not Bisbee :( I got it from a pro that is in a family business for 50+ years from Arizona... It's what I was hoping it wasn't, Hubei Turquoise. From China. It's still a valuable piece and this turquoise is widely used here in the U.S. AND, It's not a loss for me. A little disappointment, but not a loss! Mystery Solved! This still does not make this a piece of costume jewelry, it is a fine gem grade turquoise. Continue living and learning! Oh and FYI, Native Americans have been using this turquoise for many years also by the way.
The ring was made by Lela Platero and there is very little I can find on her on-line. There are plenty of other Platero's but can't find much info on or who each one is related to. I'd just like to know her approximate age to help me age this ring. The person that sold it to me said he's had it put away for quite some time now, but he knows of no info on Lela.
Hope someone can enlighten me here.
Thanks for your time and interest!
Super beautiful ring, the striations in the turquoise are amazing
Thank you Jenni. You always notice the great points! Much appreciated!
no wallflower here!
Wonderful turquoise ring Sue!!
What a stunning piece and amazing find. Thanks for sharing.
WOW! That is a conversation piece. Beautiful stones and silver workmanship. Thanks for posting.
Ho2, You got that right! Being a wallflower is just too boring for me! I still like to shake the house down!!! haha
Mr J you are always the sweetest thing! xoxo!!!
Skatekraft, do you have any idea how huge my smile is right now!!! The pieces I'm able to find keep getting better and better. As soon as I see some good ones, I know I'm in trouble, but it's just so much fun!!!
Ken, and I am always so self conscience about the way my hands look now so thank you so much cuz your voice is what makes such a big difference! xoxox!
Gorgeous !!! I love the huge turquoise stones . Looks like it was made just for you :-) xo
Hello I like the ring. It's very sensational,but it's probablynot spiderweb..but such so said it looks much like morenci/Although turquoise identification is often hard I would not forget to tell you it could be Egyptian turquoise, the highest class of turquoise. I cut and design turquoise for fun..it is very hard to find costume jewelry without paying. I would send it to Gia for appraisal if you were unsure of it being spiderweb. Lovely ring
Thank you Mani. It's pretty spectacular even if I do say so myself. There's just something about it... Been hitting the research pretty hard again!
Hi pglenn1970, thank you for chiming in here. A while back I thought I had given up trying to figure out what mines the stones come from and then along comes a stone, or 2, like this and the research starts all over again and to be sure, I get more confused, the more I read!!! There are just so many variations out there and even a large mix of stones can come from one mine, I don't know how anyone can tell unless you, not you personally, are the one that is actually digging them up, cutting them too. UGH! So confusing. From what I'm understanding, the term spiderweb can describe turquoise from any mine. I don't even know all over again! (I was beginning to think it was Bisbee. Throwing up my hands, don't know. Oh and thank you for your comment!
Awe, thanks Mary! Ya know, I have never really understood that statement/name...Spiderweb. Whenever it's used, it doesn't look like a spiderweb to me! And, I've only found one thing on Lela Platero too. If I knew her timeline, that may help also. I was even wondering if this turquoise might be Hubei (sp)? For anyone that may not know, that is a popular area from China. A lot of that turquoise has been shipped here too. And as for the pics, I didn't use any color enhancers. I think I may go to ig and see if anyone there may know. Maybe I can weigh out their answers too. xoxo
pglenn1970, I held my tongue about this yesterday when I answered to your comment but it's been bugging me. If you have a natural piece of turquoise, even if it has been stabilized or backed, it is in no way considered costume. Turquoise such as this piece especially, is gem quality, set in sterling silver and is considered "fine jewelry". It only goes up in value, never down. I just had to say that as it seems you were not aware of that. Only if it's faux turquoise, it would be considered costume.
This is a category that can be viewed in different ways, the term semi-precious stones such as turquoise, does bring some jewelry pieces into the costume jewelry group due to the setting they were produced with, if it is not solid silver or gold. No matter the grade.
Truthordare, you are correct. This piece is definitely Native American made and set in sterling silver. That's my fault for not being able to get a clear photo to show the inside of the band. I will try a few more times to do so, but I'm not certain I can get it. I also know that there are times the stones are not stones at all, but plastic! That's a frightening thought, isn't it?!? Thank you for your comment! Much appreciated, no doubt.
I don't see where I said thank you to aura, so...thank you aura for stopping in !
time has flown by to say the least,
anyway i love the ring ,as i was saying that native rings seems perfect if you are into it.
And when i make my rings people say that they are costume jewelry sometimes ,andso my compliments. Awhile back the term costume inferred to the be elegant.
But I also am thinking its bisbee turquoise./
i will post a picture of a piece of turquoise i found,you can decide if its really a turquoise,,but it looks totally awesome