What does Bisbee turquoise look like?

Bisbee turquoise can be found in many different shades of color and quality, from soft, low quality pale blue, to the quality hard brilliant blue turquoise and almost every shade of blue in between. The highest grade of Bisbee Blue turquoise is almost lapis lazuli blue and has a brownish-red spiderweb matrix.

Is Bisbee turquoise rare?

Today, genuine Bisbee turquoise is rare and highly collectible. Notice the beautiful red webbing in these Bisbee turquoise cabochons.

Is Bisbee turquoise expensive?

With so little of the stone ever recovered, it is truly hard to find genuine Bisbee, and it is an expensive stone due to its rarity, high-quality and unique color and matrix.

What is Bisbee II turquoise?

A dark reddish brown matrix that blends and swirls with rich Turquoise hues gives this Bisbee II Turquoise Rough a unique identity not found in any other variety. This lot is a mix of medium to large sizes that will provide a high yield when cutting.

What color is Bisbee turquoise?

Bisbee turquoise can be found in many different shades of color and quality, from soft, low quality pale blue, to the quality hard brilliant blue turquoise and almost every shade of blue in between. The highest grade of Bisbee Blue turquoise is almost lapis lazuli blue and has a brownish-red spiderweb matrix.

Famous Looks of Bisbee Turquoise

Is Bisbee turquoise still mined?

There are still mine tours in Bisbee, that take place at The Copper Queen Mine which shut down its mining operation in 1975.

What is the rarest turquoise?

Lander Blue Spiderweb Turquoise is some of the rarest Turquoise on earth and in high demand, Buyers must beware of impersonators, the highest grade of Chinese Spiderweb Turquoise is often sold as Lander Blue Turquoise, it takes an experienced professional to detect true Lander Blue Turquoise.

What is a Sleeping Beauty turquoise?

Sleeping Beauty turquoise is noted for its solid, light blue color with no matrix. The host rock is granite. Sleeping Beauty turquoise is the favorite of Zuni Pueblo lapidaries and silversmiths for the purity in color. This mine was one of the largest in North America.

What is Arizona turquoise?

Arizona Turquoise mines are world famous for their beautiful true blue Turquoise. Turquoise is Arizona's most important gem material. This gem ranks top in value per production and is the most widely known of Arizona's gemstones.

What is the best quality turquoise?

The most-prized turquoise color is an even, intense, medium blue, sometimes referred to as robin's egg blue or sky blue in the trade. The traditional source for this color is the Nishapur district of Iran, so you'll also hear it described as “Persian blue,” whether or not it was actually mined in Iran.

How can you tell a Kingman turquoise?

Kingman Turquoise comes from the Kingman mine in Arizona. Kingman Turquoise ranges in color from sky blue to hues of green, the green turquoise actually comes from the Turquoise Mountain side of the mine, and is desired for it's distinct coloring. This turquoise ring shows the appeal of the Kingman turquoise hue.

Why is Sleeping Beauty turquoise so expensive?

In 2012, the Sleeping Beauty mine closed and sent prices skyrocketing (not because the mine was spent, but because the copper mine that owned the mining concession sold the mine, and its new owner decided not to pursue the turquoise mining operation, according to Foutz). Buyers used to pay $10 per ct.

How can I tell what kind of turquoise I have?

How can you tell if turquoise is stabilized or natural?

After treatment, stabilized turquoise is harder and is unlikely to break or crack. The stone is no longer porous, so it doesn't absorb liquids or oils and the color is "locked" - unlike natural turquoise where the color can change, or deepen, over time. The cheapest forms of "turquoise" are block and imitation.

Which turquoise has pyrite?

Morenci and Kingman are two of the best known mines for having pyrite. However, there is pyrite in Mexican (and other) turquoise as well.

How do I know if my turquoise is real?

Turquoise is naturally a soft stone, but howlite (the turquoise imitation), is even softer. This means that if you scratch your stone and it scratches easily, you most likely have a piece of howlite. But if it's very difficult to scratch your stone, you've got genuine turquoise!

How can you tell if you have Sleeping Beauty turquoise?

Search for pieces of lumpy dye or places where the color may actually be peeling off. And if the color looks too strikingly blue, it may be fake. Real sleeping beauty stones are a 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness, which means they don't scratch easily.

What is Egyptian turquoise?

Egyptian Turquoise was first found in Egypt well over 7,500 years ago. It was highly coveted by the Egyptians to be a secred stone with metaphysical powers. Egyptian Turquoise was used by Egyptian healers, worn Kings, Pharaohs, Rulers and important people from that early period in world history.

Is white buffalo turquoise really turquoise?

White Buffalo, although technically not turquoise, is often referred to as turquoise due to its discovery in a turquoise mine. The reason behind its illustrious white color is due to its formation by the same mineralization process, "regular" in which turquoise undergoes.

Where is the best turquoise in the world?

"The most common places known for good quality turquoise are Iran (Persia), Egypt, Northwest China, Mexico and the southwestern part of the United States. Although there can be mines found in many states, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada are the most common places where you will find them.

Is purple turquoise real?

Often called "The Purple Turquoise" sugilite is actually not a turquoise at all. It was first discovered in Japan in 1944 and was named after the man that discovered it; Ken-ichi Sigi. The first specimens were a yellow color and not purple at all.

What is the current price of turquoise?

The price of turquoise stones normally range from $1 to $10 per carat but can range from $0.05 to $1000 per carat depending on the quality.

Is Kingman turquoise rare?

Today, even the quality natural turquoise from Kingman has become rare in the wake of rising demand for good quality American turquoise.

Where do you find turquoise in Arizona?