Turquoise is a lovely precious stone that looks so good in silver turquoise jewelry. Chemically it is a mixture of aluminum and phosphates with traces of copper oxide, from which it gets its blue color, and iron, zinc, calcium and manganese oxide. The gem’s green color arises from the aluminum or iron and yellow is from the zinc. Green is the most common color for turquoise gems, and furthermore blue gemstones often transform into green when exposed to sunlight for a long time. Different mixtures of these elements give turquoise its array of colors, with the most highly prized being those with an intense blue color and yellow colored gemstones having the least value. The finest quality stones, Persian turquoise for instance, don’t tend to fade and maintain their beautiful blue color for a long time.

Some turquoise gems have a major color with a spider web pattern of different colored lines marking the surface. The lines are caused by uneven distribution of the different elements present in the precious stone and the marks might be brown, yellow or black in several patterns. However pure colored stones are more highly prized than gems with a spider web matrix though turquoise gems of a deep blue color, even with spider web matrix, are more valued than green or yellow unmarked gemstones. Untreated stones of a pure color, i.e. those which are not marked with spider web matrix, are rare and are extremely highly prized.

Treating Turquoise

Less than 10% of turquoise used in jewelry is natural, high quality stone. Above 90% is treated from soft turquoise in order to harden it enough for use in jewelry. The treatment also improves stability and boosts the color of the stones. Turquoise from some countries, for example China, is much too soft and must be treated. However the procedure yields good-looking stones, which, while less prized than unprocessed stones, nevertheless make wonderful jewelry. These procedures enhance the color of the gemstones and also makes them harder so that they last for much longer. A treatment method often used  to develop the color involves injecting a dye in epoxy resin into the stone. The color is stabilised and won’t change to green. The soft Chinese turquoise is hardened by injecting liquid plastic into the stone. An alternative method is to inject epoxy resin without a color that will stabilise the gem but will not change the color.

Simulated turquoise can be made from a base of liquid plastic with powdered turquoise. This sort of turquoise is of course very inexpensive. These fake gems may perhaps be sold as natural turquoise and may be waxed or coated in plastic.

Taking Care of Turquoise Gems

Turquoise is both porous and soft so must be carefully looked after. It shouldn’t be worn at times when scratching can be occur and must be protected from blows always. On no account wear turquoise jewelry when cleaning or digging the garden! Keep turquoise jewelry in a box lined with soft material such as velvet and don’t store with other, harder stones which might scratch it. Turquoise gems can absorb liquids so keep them away from household chemicals, oils or hot water and even perfumes and cosmetics. These may be absorbed by the gem which could dull or even change it’s color. You can clean turquoise with mild soapy water and then drying gently with a soft cloth. Make sure it is dried completely before storing it away and on no account use an ultrasonic cleaner which may cause cracking of the gem.

Conclusion

Turquoise is a beautiful, eye-catching precious stone which is rare and highly valued. Even though it certainly has a few disadvantages in that it must be taken great care of and a number of the blue stones can change to green over time, it makes superb silver turquoise jewelry as the attractive blue color looks perfect with the silver.

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