December — Month of the Turquoise

Press, 29 November 1977, Page 17

December — Month of the Turquoise

Turquoise is reputed to bestow prosperity and good fortune on the wearer. Unlike diamonds, turquoise can easily be destroyed by heat, discoloured by coils, bleaching chemicals and ex-

posure, and fractured by careless handling. That helps account for the fact that more than 60 per cent of turquoise on the market today is either treated, coloured, or stabilised. Less than ten per cent of mined turquoise is fit to work and market without some kind of treatment. In its raw form turquoise is opaque and unattractive. It is hydrous copper aluminium phosphate in its pure blue form, but in many deposits iron dominates the copper, resulting in a dominant colour of green. The origin of the name turquoise is derived from French linguists who used the term to describe the

stone which came from Turkestan of Central Asia. Ancient Egyptians mined turquoise and left evidence of their interest in that kind of beads by placing some in their graves. For the past three thousand years the Sinai Mines have not produced any significant amount of turquoise, and interest has shifted to the Persian mines as the most ant pre-new world discovery. Deep sky blue Persian turquoise stones are exported to all parts of the world. Since much Persian turquoise is pale, it is usually set in a gold setting which provides a stronger contrasting background.