Guest Author - Debbie Witenski

Turquoise dates back over 6000 years. References to the stone predate the Christian Era by five millenia. It has been found in bracelets in tombs from ancient Egypt.

These bracelets date back to the second ruler of Egypt's first Dynasty, at around 5500 BC. Turquoise is and has been considered a stone of life.

Native Americans have 1000 years of history with turquoise. They have used it for protection and healing. They also used it in religion, art, jewelry and trade.

One of the oldest known gemstones in history is turquoise. Tibetans and Asians considered it to be a powerful stone that protects against evil and was thought to bring prosperity into the wearer's life.

Throughout the centuries the sky blue Iranian turquoise, known as "Persian turquoise", has been the most sought after. It is a clear, even blue color with no evidence of green and no signs of black veins.

In the 70's this turquoise was up to prices of $2000 for a 15x20mm. piece. Prices will probably never reach such highs again due to scandalous misrepresentation of the stone over the years.

Today, "Persian Turquoise" is interpreted more as a description of color quality than an indication of source. Other high quality terms are; robins egg blue.....the bluer the color, the higher the value.

A lot of people love turquoise but do not know how it came to be. Turquoise is formed by ground water seeping through aluminum rock and copper. It takes millions of years for a good amount of turquoise deposit to build up. Sadly, for the demand of turquoise beads and jewelry, it doesn't look good.

There are many substitutes and imitations that have spread through the industry over the years.

Amazonite resembles turquoise and is light green to greenish blue with a distinctive matting and grid like pattern, NOT seen in turquoise.

Variscite often has veined or matted appearance with a yellowish-brown matrix, a close enough resemblence to be called Nevada or Californian "turquoise". The resemblence is only that of poor-quality turquoise.

Howlite is a naturally opaque white stone with dark, spider web matirx appearance, which is similar to turquoise. So, then the howlite is commonly dyed to imitate the more expensive stone. An easy test to separate the two is a color filter. Dyed Howlite will appear pink or red.

Due to turquoises natural porosity, if neglected, can change the color to such an extent that it can be mistaken for green jade. So, take good care of your beautiful turquoise jewelry.