Aug 02

Silver Turquoise Jewelry – the Beautiful Blue Gemstone

Turquoise is an attractive gem that makes exquisite silver turquoise jewelry. Chemically it is a blend of phosphates and aluminum with some traces of copper oxide, which gives it its blue color, and iron, calcium, zinc and manganese oxide. The green color of the gems comes from the iron or aluminum and yellow is from the zinc. The most common color is green for turquoise gemstones, and furthermore blue stones very often change to green if exposed to sunlight for a long time. Various blends of these elements give the gemstone its range of colors, with the most valued being those with a deep blue color and yellow colored gems having the least value. The best quality gems, for instance Persian turquoise, usually don’t change color and keep their beautiful blue color for a long time.

Some gemstones have a major color with a spider web matrix on the surface of the gem consisting of lines of a different color. This is caused by irregular dispersal of the different elements that are present in the gemstone and the marks can be yellow, black or brown in lots of different patterns. However unmarked stones are more highly prized than gems with a spider web matrix while turquoise gemstones of a deep blue color, even though they have a spider web matrix, are more highly prized than yellow or green pure colored stones. Untreated stones of a pure color, i.e. those which are not marked with spider web matrix, are rare and are very highly prized.

Treating Turquoise

About 10% of the turquoise used in jewelry is the naturally occurring, best quality stone. Above 80% is treated from soft, rough turquoise in order to harden it enough to be used in jewelry. The process also improves stability and develops the gem’s color. Turquoise that comes from a few countries, for example China, is always too soft and must be treated. However the process yields good-looking stones, which, though less highly prized than untreated gemstones, still make superb jewelry. The process enhances the gemstones color as well as making them harder so that they last for much longer. A process that is used to boost the color involves injecting an epoxy resin containing a dye into the gem. The color is more stable and will remain unchanged. Soft turquoise from China is hardened by injecting liquid plastic into the stone. A further method is to inject epoxy resin alone to stabilize the gem without changing the color.

Artificial turquoise is also made from a base of liquid plastic with powdered turquoise. This sort of turquoise is obviously very inexpensive. These imitation stones may perhaps be sold as high quality natural turquoise turquoise and are often waxed or plastic coated.

Taking Care of Turquoise Stones

Turquoise is both porous and soft so needs to be carefully looked after. It shouldn’t be worn for gardening or other work where it can be scratched and ought to be protected from any kind of blow at all times. On no account wear turquoise jewelry when you are gardening or washing up! Store turquoise jewelry in its own softly lined box and never store with other gems which might scratch the stones. Turquoise gems can absorb liquids so do not let them come into contact with hot water, oils, chemicals and even perfumes and cosmetics. These could be absorbed by the gemstone which could change color or become dull. You can clean turquoise with mild soapy water and then drying gently with a soft cloth. Take care it is dried completely before putting it away and never use an ultrasonic cleaner as they may cause cracking of the gem.

Conclusion

Turquoise is an exquisite, attractive precious stone which is rare and highly valued. Even though there are a few disadvantages in that it needs to be carefully looked after and some of the blue stones can turn green over time, it makes wonderful silver turquoise jewelry as the attractive blue color is perfectly complemented by the silver.

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