This gem was called by the Romans “Sleeping beauty turquoise” and gained its current name in the 13th Century. It was given the modern name Turquoise, meaning “Turkish”, by French stone traders who sourced the mineral from Venice, further south. Sky blue is the traditional colour because Iranian turquoise used to be the best in the world. Today, its resources are decreasing and most of the stone with an intense and clear colour comes from Arizona’s “Sleeping Beauty Mine”.
We could not possibly write about every gemstone and bead in the world, so we decided that our next few blog posts would focus on the most popular beads we have, whose authenticity is often questioned: coral, turquoise, amber and coral.
We have learned from many experiences that bead sellers are trying to take advantage of you. Certain beads are highly sought-after due to their rarity and unmodified nature. The worst case scenario is when the bead is completely incorrectly labelled. Nobody wants to pay top-dollar for a fake stone! Here are some facts that you should know.
Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Future reference
Many, many different turquoise mines exist around the globe. Some of these closed decades ago. This makes certain turquoise specimens extremely rare and highly sought-after. Kingman turquoise is one example. It is found only in Kingman, Arizona. Collectors love Kingman turquoise because of its bright blue colour and fine, black matrix.
Another example of “exclusive turquoise” is Sleeping Beauty. It can only be found at The Sleeping Beauty mine near Globe in Arizona.
Reconstituted turquoise is what purists are looking for. This involves “grinding pieces from sleeping beauty turquoise into a powder, and binding it all together using glue or resin.” (Source Although this is technically made of turquoise particles, it’s a stretch to call it “natural.” However, there are other stones that are 100% synthetic, and are often sold as genuine turquoise: howlite and magnesite.