|
The Lure Of Turquoise
By Lee Dobbins
Man has been fascinated by the stone turquoise for centuries and with
good reason. This beautiful natural stone comes in colors ranging from
sky blue to greenish yellow and has been used in jewelry as well as for
it’s healing properties for centuries.
Turquoise is mined in China, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Persia. In North
America, it is found in Arizona and New Mexico. The stone can be rather
porous and chalky and is usually treated before it is suitable for use
in jewelry. The stones are treated with a resinous substance to
“stabilize” them. This treatment hardens the stone making it less
susceptible to chipping and keeps the color from changing due to contact
with the oils in your body.
Turquoise is also reputed to heal all kinds of ailments. New age healers
use it for the skeletal, digestive and respiratory systems. It is said
to help remove toxins from smoking and other pollutants from the body.
The stone is also said to help improve your attitude as well as enhance
creativity. It is reputed to bring you inner awareness and help
strengthen friendships. Turquoise is reputed to help those who have
trouble speaking in public, improve empathy and honesty.
One of the most beautiful types of turquoise is mined from the Sleeping
Beauty Mine in Arizona. Called sleeping beauty turquoise after the name
of the mine, these stones are a vivid sky blue color with no matrix to
speak of. These beads and stones are well sought after for jewelry
making and a favorite of the Zuni Pueblo silver makers who incorporate
it into their traditional inlay jewelry.
Another popular turquoise is White Buffalo Turquoise which is mined from
the Dry Creek Mine in Nevada and is a beautiful stone used in jewelry.
Highly prized as the White Buffalo vein has only been found in one spot
and once it’s gone there may never be new stones in this coloration
again. The stones are a light turquoise with white colorations and dark
veins. Not to be confused with howlite, White buffalo turquoise is not
solid white in color.
Persian turquoise has been used in jewelry since ancient times and there
are many mines in Iran that produce this beautiful stone. This turquoise
can have a wide variety of color from sky blue to pale green. Ancient
Persian carvings using turquoise have been found and it is evident that
ancient jewelry was made with stones from these mines.
If you have turquoise jewelry or stones, you need to take special care
to clean them since it is porous. Some people feel that there is an
added value in vintage turquoise which has had years to develop a patina
and excessive cleaning can destroy that value. The preferred means is to
cleaning native turquoise is to gently wipe it with a soft cloth but
there are instances where you may require more intense cleaning and our
advice is to use warm soapy water. If the turquoise is set in a piece of
jewelry you should avoid submerging it in anything liquid as it can seep
into the fissures of the jewelry and cause deterioration years down the
road.
One gentle method for cleaning turquoise is to dunk a Q-tip in warm
soapy water and swab the jewelry with that - make sure you remove any
soapy residue by swabbing again with a clean Q-tip dipped in clean
water. Never clean your turquoise in ultrasonic or steam cleaners or use
any type of chemical.
Lee Dobbins is a jewelry designer and owner of Artisan Jewelry Online at
http://www.artisan-jewelry-online.com/
where you can find out more about turquoise and turquoise jewelry.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins
|
