ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Turquoise has intrigued mankind for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians, Persians and Native Americans have been fascinated by the stone's beauty and their belief in its positive energy.
Today, turquoise is found in trendy as well as ethnic jewelry worldwide. “Everyone loves turquoise,” says a smiling Romie Salem of Turquoise Network, a leading online jewelry retailer. “The problem is, turquoise jewelry is extremely difficult to mass produce.”
He explains that the stone’s brittleness and color variations make it challenging to fabricate in large quantities. “Even the same mine will rarely contain more than few hundred pounds of nearly identical turquoise.”
Over the past few decades, great strides have been made to improve the durability and color consistency of turquoise. “While this has been vital in making turquoise widely available and affordable, buyers need to understand the differences—especially with all the turquoise look-alikes now on the market,” says Salem. “There really are five main types to look for: Natural, Stabilized, Reconstituted, Dyed Stone and Imitation.”
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NATURAL: Untreated turquoise with the same properties it had when it came out of the ground (soft, brittle, varying color shades, etc.). Very little jewelry in the market actually contains natural turquoise (probably less than 1%, according to Salem). This type of turquoise can, of course, be referred to as "Genuine Turquoise." |
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STABILIZED: Turquoise that has been treated chemically, using epoxy and color dyes, to make it more durable and enhance its color. Stabilized turquoise is "Genuine Turquoise" by jewelry industry standards. In fact, most turquoise jewelry in the market is stabilized, including that sold by major TV shopping networks, department stores and jewelry retailers. |
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| Salem points out that even the highest grades of turquoise, such as Sleeping Beauty, are often stabilized for better jewelry production and wear. | ||
| Other facts regarding stabilized turquoise: | ||
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A. May also be color enhanced (i.e. blue, green, purple and other colors). It is still the same material and therefore still considered genuine turquoise. |
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B. Smaller pieces of turquoise may be bonded together to form larger pieces. The individual pieces are NOT crushed into powder, as is the case with Reconstituted turquoise (discussed below). Subtle cracks may appear in the stone—but in reality it is where two pieces have been joined together. The issue is generally cosmetic and does not compromise the structure or stability of the stone. |
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| 3. | RECONSTITUTED: Absolutely NOT “genuine” turquoise. It contains a very small amount of turquoise that has been ground into a powder and mixed with other materials and chemicals. It is illegal to refer to this type of material as genuine turquoise. | |
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DYED STONE (Howlite, Magnesite or others): NOT turquoise at all. Natural stones are dyed to resemble turquoise, with matrix and all, but are not turquoise. Unfortunately this material has become prevalent and falsely marketed as turquoise by unscrupulous dealers over the past decade or so. |
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| 5. | IMITATION/PLASTIC/RESIN/BLOCK: Obviously NOT turquoise at all, but rather a mix of various chemicals and materials. | |
“While it may seem like a jungle out there, it isn’t so bad once the basics are understood. It’s always best to shop for turquoise at reputable businesses as well,” concludes Salem.