Show me your turquoise jewelry!

[Miki Moto]

P.S. Did you see the video of how Ohana Turquoise makes their turquoise?
http://www.ohanaturquoise.com/gallery.html

I thought it was pretty cool they do this by hand although I can't figure out how they make the round beads with that little stick. Very interesting video though.

 

[Bluegemz]

Re stabilization: The stabilization of turquoise is not necessarily a bad thing, as it prevents color changing among other things, but should be priced much less than unstabilized. One can tell after wear over a time when one has untreated turquoise pieces because some stones will change to deeper blue or green due to oil absorption. The best of the best is so glassy that this doesn’t happen easily.
It’s best to forgo moisturizer, sun block
And perfumes when wearing unstabilized beads. I wipe down my neck with a towel before I wear mine anyway to slow down any color changing .

 

[Bluegemz]

P.S. Did you see the video of how Ohana Turquoise makes their turquoise?
http://www.ohanaturquoise.com/gallery.html

I thought it was pretty cool they do this by hand although I can't figure out how they make the round beads with that little stick. Very interesting video though.

Ooh, I’m going to watch it!

 

[Bluegemz]

More of my stash! Some turquoise heishi strands, and a spiney oyster heishi also.
I don't wear them all at once!

Love this picture! Those are gorgeous Heidi beads. Makes me think it would be fun to take entire collection pics! It’s great to see many pieces together.

 

[Bluegemz]

Thank you for the explanation and your input on the items on their website... that helps alot! So much to learn with turquoise. Now I need to know for sure what this company does, so I am going to ask! I just remember her saying it's natural, a strand like this unique, blah blah blah... but I will ask again to be sure. Now I am going to be obsessed about this strand until next year's show.

Sorry to keep bothering you, but you have a wealth of knowledge! Last question.. I promise... do you know about Tiffany Turquoise? I have the ring, necklace (shown above), and also the dot earrings. All the Tiffany stones looks natural and "dull", not "shiny" (e.g. coated with clear fingernail polish shiny). I hope that made sense. My Sleeping Beauty turquoise looked shiny like that which I did not like. Tiffany said it was lightly stabilized for durability which I really don't care as I do like their pieces. I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on Tiffany turquoise or know anything about them.

Thanks again for all your help and sorry for all the questions.

If the sleeping beauty beads were shiny like that, maybe they were coated too, although some turquoise holds a high polish.
I’m not sure about the Tiffany pieces. If they are stabilized, then they aren’t the absolute highest quality possible, but you paid for a style and look which you love, with the name, of course. You will not have to worry about colors changing with stabilized as much.

 

[stracci2000]

P.S. Did you see the video of how Ohana Turquoise makes their turquoise?
http://www.ohanaturquoise.com/gallery.html

I thought it was pretty cool they do this by hand although I can't figure out how they make the round beads with that little stick. Very interesting video though.

Interesting! I just watched this video. The men were making cabochon shapes on the "dop sticks". The gem rough stone is glued to the top of the stick to make it easier to hold up to the grinding wheel.
Beads are made in a machine that grinds them to uniform sizes.
Here is a youtube video of that process.

 

[Bluegemz]

Another thing to look out for is simulant turquoise in the form of dyed Howlite. There a lot of this on the market. It tends to be dull looking, without a high polish, and with telltale interesting matrix which just looks different from turquoise. Normally it’s a pretty, but inexpensive white stone.

Here’s a strand of this material which I own..

 

[Bluegemz]

Here’s a strand of dyed Howlite which was being sold as highest quality Persian for over 2k! It doesn’t have the right ‘luster’ for turquoise. Also, natural turquoise in a similar deep blue would likely be much more expensive.

 

[Miki Moto]

Another thing to look out for is simulant turquoise in the form of dyed Howlite. There a lot of this on the market. It tends to be dull looking, without a high polish, and with telltale interesting matrix which just looks different from turquoise. Normally it’s a pretty, but inexpensive white stone.

Here’s a strand of this material which I own..

You are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for sharing the video of how they make the round beads. Very interesting. Now I appreciate turquoise so much more! Thank you again!

 

[Bluegemz]

You are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for sharing the video of how they make the round beads. Very interesting. Now I appreciate turquoise so much more! Thank you again!

It’s a pleasure! @stracci2000 shared the video. A big thanks to her from me too!

 

[Miki Moto]

Interesting! I just watched this video. The men were making cabochon shapes on the "dop sticks". The gem rough stone is glued to the top of the stick to make it easier to hold up to the grinding wheel.
Beads are made in a machine that grinds them to uniform sizes.
Here is a youtube video of that process.

Hi Stracci, my apologies... I'm a newbie here on this forum. Thank you for sharing the video!

 

[stracci2000]

Hi Stracci, my apologies... I'm a newbie here on this forum. Thank you for sharing the video!

Oh, no worries! There is a lot to know about gems and jewelry! I am still learning myself.......

 

[missy]

More of my stash! Some turquoise heishi strands, and a spiney oyster heishi also.
I don't wear them all at once!

Stracci your collection is amazing. I love all the pieces you have shared with us here and in other threads. Just beautiful. And thank you for sharing your knowledge with us too!

 

[missy]

Re stabilization: The stabilization of turquoise is not necessarily a bad thing, as it prevents color changing among other things, but should be priced much less than unstabilized. One can tell after wear over a time when one has untreated turquoise pieces because some stones will change to deeper blue or green due to oil absorption. The best of the best is so glassy that this doesn’t happen easily.
It’s best to forgo moisturizer, sun block
And perfumes when wearing unstabilized beads. I wipe down my neck with a towel before I wear mine anyway to slow down any color changing .

And @Bluegemz thank you also for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us. I am learning so much from you lovely ladies. Thank you!

 

[stracci2000]

Stracci your collection is amazing. I love all the pieces you have shared with us here and in other threads. Just beautiful. And thank you for sharing your knowledge with us too!

Haha, Missy!
I'm just a blingoholic, like you!
I'm all about jewelry all the time. Is there a 12 step program I should know about?

 

[missy]

Haha, Missy!
I'm just a blingoholic, like you!
I'm all about jewelry all the time. Is there a 12 step program I should know about?

Hahaha if there is one let me know. In the meantime I will happily enjoy being addicted to bling right along with you @stracci2000. This is an addiction we can enjoy together without any ill health effects. The only thing suffering is our pocketbook.

Blingaholics Unite!

 

[rodentman]

Old pawn ring, perhaps Navajo, I can't recall.

 

[meely]

Loving all the turquoise
I admittedly don't have a huge amount of jewellery but this is by far my favourite item; I was got it 12 years ago and have yet to tire of it.

 

[stracci2000]

More of my stash! Some turquoise heishi strands, and a spiney oyster heishi also.
I don't wear them all at once!

Here's how I wear the short necklaces.

 

[missy]

Here's how I wear the short necklaces.

Gorgeous!
I think the choker style is so versatile and I find it’s my favorite way to wear necklaces. And least likely to get tangled up in my hair or clothes or coat etc.

 

[Bluegemz]

Here's how I wear the short necklaces.

Those look amazing on you, especially with your haircut! Just gorgeous!

 

[Bluegemz]

Wore this old Zuni cuff yesterday. This one reminds me of a straw flower or sun flower. One can see that some of the untreated turquoise has slowly changed to slightly greenish, which I think makes the colors more interesting personally.

 

[Bluegemz]

Old pawn ring, perhaps Navajo, I can't recall.

That’s a gorgeous piece of turquoise. It looks very stormy and marbled with shades of blue.

 

[Bluegemz]

Loving all the turquoise
I admittedly don't have a huge amount of jewellery but this is by far my favourite item; I was got it 12 years ago and have yet to tire of it.

That’s such a lovely ring! It’s amazing that you have had it for so long and still adore it! I can see why.

 

[stracci2000]

How can I post this after seeing @Bluegemz awesome Zuni cuff??
But I'm gonna do it anyway.....
Here is my meager collection of Zuni needlepoint.
It's so delicate, and the raised stones prone to chipping.
A Zuni silversmith once told me that the pieces of turquoise are placed in with super glue!

 

[Bluegemz]

How can I post this after seeing @Bluegemz awesome Zuni cuff??
But I'm gonna do it anyway.....
Here is my meager collection of Zuni needlepoint.
It's so delicate, and the raised stones prone to chipping.
A Zuni silversmith once told me that the pieces of turquoise are placed in with super glue!

Those are gorgeous! I’m glad you showed them. I love love love Zuni needlepoint.

 

[Bluegemz]

Here is a necklace and earring set which I bought for my teenage daughter this Christmas. She likes the wearability of this delicate piece. Anything larger would have been a no go for her lol. Someday her tastes might change!

 

[stracci2000]

Here is a necklace and earring set which I bought for my teenage daughter this Christmas. She likes the wearability of this delicate piece. Anything larger would have been a no go for her lol. Someday her tastes might change!

Pretty! This necklace goes with everything!

 

[samranmal]

I picked this cuff up a few months back. I have a couple cuffs now, but love the open design of this one. Bluegemz's 30s-40s Zuni cuff is still my holy grail though....

 

[Bluegemz]

I picked this cuff up a few months back. I have a couple cuffs now, but love the open design of this one. Bluegemz's 30s-40s Zuni cuff is still my holy grail though....

That is increadible!!! I absolutely adore your new cuff! Do you know about what time period it’s from? That’s a very unusual design, so, SO beautiful!