The Turquoise Birthstone For Jewelry


by Arsene Bergkamp - Date: 2007-05-06 - Word Count: 426 Share This!

Many people like to buy birthstones and integrate them into their look. Turquoise gemstones fall within this category and give your jewelry a very distinct look.

One of the alternate birthstones for December, turquoise is a unique gemstone with variable colors and other properties. An opaque gemstone that is made of copper and aluminum in a phosphate, turquoise has been prized throughout the world because of its unique color - unlike any other gemstone. The name turquoise comes from the French, who called the gem after the place it was most frequently traded in - Turkey.

Turquoise is not a very hard stone, in fact, it cracks under the same amount of pressure as window glass. Lesser quality stones will crack under even less pressure, and the quality of turquoise is extremely variable. The color of turquoise is also variable - there is a large range of colors that can be found within the blue-green turquoise spectrum. Stones can be colored in ways from light robin's egg blue to a darker, green color. Turquoise can be treated, both chemically and with heat, in order to change the color of a particular stone, and the gemstone may also be waxed or coated in order to make it appear more valuable.

Most of the world's highest grade turquoise actually comes from Iran, with a deposit here that is considered a "perfect color" deposit (a natural beautiful blue, and green when heated). Turquoise is also found on the nearby Sinai Peninsula and Egypt, but the gem is not mined commercially in these areas. China and Australia have also been found to have small amounts of turquoise in veins running throughout the countries, but they are considered minor sources.

One of the world's biggest sources of turquoise comes from the United States, specifically in Arizona. Most of the turquoise found in the US is not of a very high quality, and it is of the type known as chalk turquoise. Of the gems that are jewelry quality, many of the turquoise pieces found here are greener in color, and have a mottled appearance. Pre-Columbian Native Americans were the first to find and use this turquoise, and today the gem is still often seen in Native American jewelry and artifacts.

If you are looking to purchase turquoise, Arizona and Nevada are the two states where you are most likely to find large amounts of the gem in jewelry settings. Be wary of extremely blue turquoise, which may look dyed or fake. These may be simulated turquoise, which can be made from chalk turquoise (dyed) or even plastic resin.

Related Tags: jewelry, french, iran, turkey, gem, gemstone, turquoise, birthstone, opaque

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