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Turquoise is a gorgeous stone that looks so good in silver turquoise jewelry. Chemically it’s a blend of phosphates and aluminum with traces of copper oxide, from which it gets its blue color, and manganese oxide, calcium, zinc and iron. The green color arises from the iron or aluminum and and zinc gives it a yellow color. Green is the most common color for turquoise gems, and in fact blue gemstones very often transform into green when exposed to sunlight for a long time. Different blends of these elements give turquoise its array of colors, with the most highly prized being those with a deep blue color and yellow gems having the least value. The finest quality gemstones, Persian turquoise for instance, do not tend to fade and keep their gorgeous blue color for a long time.

Some gems have a main color and lines of a different color in a spider web pattern on the surface. The cause of this is uneven dispersal of the different elements that are present in the stone and the lines might be brown, yellow or black in several patterns. However unmarked gems are more sought after 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 valued than yellow or green unmarked gemstones. Untreated gems of a pure color, i.e. without a spider web matrix, are rare and are very highly prized.

Treating Turquoise

Around 10% of the turquoise used in jewelry is natural, best quality gemstone. Above 85% is processed from soft turquoise to make it hard enough for use. This treatment also improves stability and enhances the color of the stones. Turquoise from several countries, China for example, is too soft and needs to be treated. However the treatment yields good-looking gemstones, which, though less prized than untreated gemstones, still make fantastic jewelry. The process enhances the gemstones color and also makes them harder which makes them last longer. A treatment method used to develop the color involves injecting epoxy resin that contains a dye into the gemstone. The color is durable and will not fade. Soft turquoise from China is toughened by injecting stones with liquid plastic. A further method is to inject epoxy resin alone that will stabilize the stone without changing the color.

Synthetic turquoise can be made from powdered turquoise in liquid plastic. This kind of turquoise is of course very cheap. These imitation gems might be sold as natural turquoise and are often coated in plastic or waxed.

Looking After Turquoise Stones

Turquoise is porous and soft so must be looked after carefully. It must never be worn at times when scratching can be occur and ought to be shielded from any kind of blow at all times. Never wear turquoise jewelry for gardening or to do the washing up! Store turquoise jewelry in a box lined with soft material such as velvet and do not store with other, harder gems which may well scratch it. Turquoise gems can soak up liquids so keep them away from household chemicals, oils or hot water and even cosmetics and perfumes. These may be absorbed by the stone which could change color and lose it’s lustre. You can clean turquoise with very mild soapy water and drying carefully with a soft cloth. Make sure it is thoroughly dried before you store it away and never use ultrasonic jewelry cleaners as they may result in cracking of the gem.

Conclusion

Turquoise is an exquisite, eye-catching stone which is rare and sought after. While it definitely does have some disadvantages in that it must be carefully looked after and a number of the blue stones can change to green over time, it makes fantastic silver turquoise jewelry as the attractive blue color goes perfectly with the silver.

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