Turquoise Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Turquoise Value

In terms of value, color evenness and saturation are the primary considerations. A turquoise’s capacity for taking a good polish without stabilization is also an important factor. (See “Are Turquoises Enhanced” below and our article on turquoise treatments for more information).

Generally, darker shades and less green tint in blue colors add more value to turquoises. Of course, consumers who appreciate matrix patterns would consider their beauty crucial to determining their value. Spiderweb turquoise, veined with black matrix in a pattern that looks like crocheted lace, is quite popular. Other matrix pattern varieties also have their devotees.

The highest grades of turquoise are typically used for cabochons, carvings, and inlay. Lower grades are used as polished beads or natural, “nugget-style” beads.

Turquoise enjoys an avid collector market, with sibling rivalries among the various enthusiasts who see virtue in different colors, matrix variations, and mine sites. For information on how these dynamics can affect prices, read our article on turquoise appraisals.

Just as no gem collection would be complete without several representatives of this species, no jewelry collection should be without at least one piece featuring this beloved traditional December birthstone. (Turquoise is also the birthstone for those born on Saturday).

Turquoise is a real gem bargain. Even the very highest grades of material are modestly priced compared to many other gems. For more information on turquoise value factors, consult our buying guide.

Turquoise History

Turquoise has withstood the vicissitudes of fashion as well as the passage of millennia. As early as 3,000 BCE, the Ancient Egyptians mined and worked turquoise into jewelry and ceremonial objects. Later, the Chinese and Ancient American cultures did the same. Persia (Iran) introduced Medieval Europe to this stone. Turquoise has inspired many legends and folkloric beliefs and remains a highly desired material for jewelry and decorative objects.

Although the practice of setting turquoises in silver has a long tradition in the United States, jewelers traditionally set these stones in gold, sometimes with diamonds, in the Middle East as well as Iran.

In the Victorian Era, turquoise was greatly admired and also typically set in gold. Today, more jewelry designers are emulating the Persians and Victorians and setting pieces in gold.

What is Turquoise?

Chemically, turquoise is a hydrated copper/aluminum phosphate of aggregate, cryptocrystalline structure. Only one deposit is known to produce transparent to translucent crystals: Lynch Station, Virginia. (Specimens from this locale are rare and bring a hefty price from collectors). More typically, this stone occurs as an opaque deposit in nodules, in veins within host rocks, or as shallow crusts on the surface of rocks. Massive turquoise is always opaque.

The zinc analogue of turquoise, faustite has an intense yellow-green color and a density within the turquoise range. Turquoise can also form in series with the minerals chalcosiderite and planerite. Malachite and chrysocolla can sometimes grow together in rocks with turquoise as well.

What Color is Turquoise?

Colors range from shades of blue to blue-green to yellowish green depending on the elements present. Copper forms part of a turquoise's chemical structure and adds blue color. However, traces of chromium and vanadium add green. Iron traces adds yellow. There are also rare specimens of blue-violet color that contain strontium impurities. In general, US mines produce slightly greenish blue to green gems due to high iron and vanadium content.

The most admired stones usually have a fine robin's egg or celestial blue color, with no visible matrix. This shade, sometimes called "Persian Blue," indicates the presence of little vanadium and no iron. Iran still produces turquoises of this sort. However, the US has produced similar stones, particularly in the Sleeping Beauty Mine near Globe, Arizona.

Does Turquoise Make a Good Jewelry Stone?

Although turquoises do have some physical limitations as jewelry stones, with proper cutting, treatment, and care, they can make wonderful additions to your collection.

Turquoises are relatively fragile, porous, and susceptible to heat and/or chemical damage. Stones average 18-20% water content. When heated, from an unwary jeweler's torch, for example, that water is progressively lost until, at 400º C, the structural integrity of the mineral is destroyed.

Due to these properties, you should reserve turquoise jewelry for occasional wear. Protect it from heat, chemicals, and physical blows and use protective settings, especially for ring use.

Do Turquoise Matrix Patterns Affect Durability?

Most turquoise rough contains matrix— patches or veins of the host rock in which it formed, such as chalcedony, opal, brown limonite, black chert, or white kaolinite. Lapidaries often cut this brownish or black matrix along with the stone to provide color contrast and patterns.

This matrix can affect the color, toughness, and workability of the stone. Relatively pure specimens of turquoise might have a hardness of around 5 and be moderately porous.

In general, a high proportion of silicate minerals increases hardness and decreases porosity, while a high clay mineral content has the opposite effect. At one end of this spectrum, we find minimally porous pieces of hardness 5.5 to 6 that can take a bright polish. At the other, we have soft and chalky pieces with a hardness of 3 so porous they're unusable without stabilization.

Identifying Turquoise

Turquoise can have a distinctive absorption spectrum, with lines at 4600 (vague) and 4320. These are usually seen in light reflected from the stone's surface.

The specific gravity (SG) of stones from different sources varies. While there is some overlap, some of the measurements at the extreme ends can help identify sources.

• Iran: 2.75-2.85
• United States: 2.6-2.7
• China: 2.70
• Eilat, Israel: 2.56-2.70
• Sinai Peninsula, Egypt: 2.81
• Tibet: 2.72
• Bahia, Brazil: 2.40-2.65

Are There Synthetic Turquoises?

Synthetic turquoise is available, with or without matrix. The Pierre Gilson Company created the most well-known type in 1972. It can resemble the finest Persian grade stone, but a microscope will reveal the difference. Natural stones have a smooth surface. Under magnification, the synthetics display a mix of tiny blue spheres in a light-colored host medium that resembles the texture of "cream of wheat."

Turquoise Lookalikes

There are many turquoise simulants on the market. Non-mineral imitations include plastics, ceramics, and glass and can appear very realistic.

Keep in mind that the color "turquoise" is very popular. Objects sold as "turquoise beads" or "turquoise jewelry" may not actually contain turquoises, only turquoise-colored material. Ask vendors questions and read the item descriptions carefully. For example, so-called "Viennese turquoise" is artificially blue-tinted argillaceous earth. (You can learn more about other materials frequently sold under false or misleading gemstone names).

Some natural gemstones can be mistaken for turquoise. Variscite can look like green turquoise. In fact, variscites and turquoises sometimes occur together in rocks, which are dubbed "variquoise." This attractive combination of patterns and colors can command a premium price. Prosopite, especially the Mexican material with its light-blue color, is another potential simulant.

Are Turquoises Enhanced?

Most turquoise gemstones on the market today have received some type of treatment or enhancement. Pale specimens commonly receive extensive treatments to improve their color. Fine grained and compact material that will take a good polish is rare. Skin oils and cosmetic residues can easily darken the color of turquoise gems. Even top grade, otherwise natural stones often get a surface coat of paraffin wax to seal them and enhance the polish. For these reasons, treatments are commonplace.

Numerous techniques may be used. They're very difficult to detect without detailed knowledge and the right testing equipment.

Impregnation or Stabilization

All but the highest grades of turquoise may be impregnated or stabilized by a pressure infusion of wax, oil, natural resin, or epoxy resin.

Small, porous pieces are also sometimes pressed together with a resin binder to make a stabilized mosaic. However, whether a stone has been pressed together isn't always obvious, as the following photo illustrates.

Zachery Treatment

An electro-chemical proprietary enhancement process called the Zachery Treatment has been promoted as an alternative to traditional stabilization that improves both durability and color evenness.

Dyes

Turquoise itself isn't dyed frequently. Sometimes dyes are added to the impregnation fillers.

More commonly, other materials, natural or otherwise, are dyed to look like turquoises. For example, howlite, a white and grey-veined mineral, readily accepts dye. Blue-dyed howlites often make their way to market. Unfortunately, they don't always carry "faux turquoise" labels. Sometimes, vendors sell howlite in its natural (albeit unremarkable) state under the misnomer "white turquoise." Buyer beware. There's no such thing.

Dyed magnesite can also resemble turquoise. In recent years, this material has gained popularity as a simulant. If properly disclosed, this is acceptable. If not, again, buyer beware.

Beware of so-called "yellow turquoise" imported from China as well. Some stones do indeed have a natural light yellow-green color. However, vendors offer some very bright sunshine or butter-yellow dyed pieces without much effort to discriminate them from the non-dyed material.

Reconstituted Turquoise

A mixture of ground natural turquoise and plastic or other materials, reconstituted turquoise is cheap, easy to cut, and readily available. Although this material does contain natural turquoise, there is some debate over whether this material counts as a synthetic, a hybrid gem, or a simulant.

Turquoise Treatment Characteristics

• Plastic impregnation, sometimes with dye: improves durability and color, common, stable. Detect with low specific gravity, hot point, magnification.
• Wax impregnation: improves color, common, may pick up dirt and discolor. Detect with hot point, magnification.
• Epoxy impregnation: improves color slightly, makes porous material stronger and able to accept a polish, common, stable. Detect with magnification.
• Dyeing with shoe polish: enhances webbing, common, stable except to acetone. Detect by wiping with acetone.
• Epoxy backing (doublets): adds strength and weight, common, may separate. Detect by sight.
• Surface coating with epoxy, lacquer, etc: improves color, seals dye, rare, stability varies. Detect with magnification.

Please note: hot point and dye testing are destructive tests. Conduct them only as a last resort for identification.

Where are Turquoises Found?

Turquoise usually occurs in arid regions, where ground water percolates through aluminous rock in the vicinity of copper deposits. Like azurite, malachite, and opal, it's a secondary mineral that forms through the interaction of pre-existing minerals and their solutions. The majority of today's commerce in turquoise comes primarily from North America and China.

Some connoisseurs may be able to tell the actual mine of origin of many cut gemstones because of distinctive nuances in color and matrix. The variation in these characteristics is enormous.

United States

The US deposits are almost exclusively limited to the southwest states, with some notable exceptions. (Turquoise is the official state gemstone of Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico).

Lynch Station, Virginia

The only well-known occurrence of turquoise crystals, Lynch Station usually produces microscopic specimens. From time to time, larger ones tempt gem cutters. Some very tiny faceted gems (well under one carat) might exist.

Nevada

Nevada is home to more mines than Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico put together.

The better known localities include the following:

• Blue Gem Mine: large variation in color, noted for blue and green colors in the same stone.
• Fox Mine: huge production; active since 1915.
• Lander Blue Mine: finely divided spiderweb, with tiny turquoise specks, rare and highly valued today.
• Stormy Mountain Mine: dark blue, hard material with black chert matrix.

Other notable mines in Nevada: Papoose, Zuni, Montezuma, Crow Springs, Carlin, Red Mountain, and Godber.

Arizona

• Bisbee: intense dark blue material, wispy matrix.

• Kingman: some deep blue material has been treated to improve color.
• Sleeping Beauty Mine: although this source no longer produces, its blue material with little matrix can be found in old collections and antique jewelry.

New Mexico

• Santa Rita: pale to deep blue colors.
• Los Cerrillos: historically blue colors, now green colors with brown matrix.

Other Notable Sources in the United States

• Arkansas; California; Leadville, Colorado (small stones, deep blue with a tinge of green).

Turquoise cabochon, 4.1 x 3.0 x 0.8 cm, Mona Lisa Mine, Porter Mtn., Gilham, Polk Co., Arkansas, USA. (Epoxy stabilization with natural color). Video © Rob Lavinsky, mineralauctions.com. Used with permission.

Iran

Historically, mines in Persia (Iran) produced the finest material. There is still considerable production from that area. Persian, now Iranian, turquoise is almost synonymous with material of the highest quality.

District of Nishapur, on Ali-mersai Mountain: found in porphyry and trachyte rocks, cemented by brown limonite. The color is a lovely uniform sky blue, often very intense, and sometimes veined by thin lines of limonitic matrix. These mines have been worked for centuries.

China

Some mines appear to have operated in ancient times. Archaeological finds dated as early as 1,300 BCE indicate the possibility of a centuries-old exploitation of local deposits.

Currently, the Wudang mountain area of northwestern Hubei Province and Shaanxi Province, about 150 km to the northwest, produce fine turquoises. The material occurs as compact nodules, typically up to 8 cm, with much larger masses occasionally found. The color ranges from pale blue to light green. Generally, Chinese stones have softer matrix and are more porous than the material from the American Southwest.

Egypt

In the Sinai Peninsula, the Serâbît el Khâdim and Maharâh mines produce turquoise. They operated as early as 1,000 BCE, and the material was used to create jewelry for the Pharaohs. The producing area extends along the Suez Gulf, where the material occurs in sandstone. Earth movements have brecciated the gem and matrix. There is considerable limonite present. The color is blue to greenish blue. Some may fade in the sunlight.

Tibet

The national gem of Tibet, turquoise could be gathered by hand from the ground surface here. However, very little material is available today. Green is the most prized color.

Australia

Dense, compact turquoise of fine color has been found in large deposits. Found in nodules that may reach hundreds of pounds, this material is solid, takes a high polish, and is uniform in color. However, it has a slight tendency to shear along planes of weakness. The color resembles that of Persian (Iranian) turquoise.

Other Notable Sources

• Chile: the Chuquicamata copper mine has yielded material of very fine color. Not much has reached the marketplace.
• Pau a Pique, Bahia, Brazil: porous and cryptocrystalline material, RI ~ 1.618.
• Afghanistan; India; Israel; Kenya; Baja California, Sonora, and Zacatecas, Mexico; Uzbekistan.

How to Care for Turquoise Jewelry

Don't use mechanical cleaning methods, such as ultrasonic or steam systems, to clean turquoise. Avoid cleaning this porous gem material with soap, detergents, or cleaning solutions. Wipe with a damp cloth, then wipe dry immediately. Also, wipe pieces with a damp cloth after wearing.

For more care recommendations, consult our guide for caring for your turquoises and our general guide to gemstone jewelry cleaning.