Turquoise Jewelry

Throughout history and across cultures, turquoise jewelry has been and continues to be a favorite among gemstones. When in doubt, buy turquoise...It's been the popular choice for the last 6,000 years.

Turquoise is a soft stone (with a hardness of 6), and the color will fade with time. To make the gemstone harder and retain its beauty, all turquoise is treated with wax or resin.

Be careful when buying turquoise. A lot of lower grade stones are dipped in dye before being waxed or hardened, and are then sold at the high quality price. The only way of avoiding overspending for low quality is buying from a jeweler you trust.

Care of Turquoise Jewelry

It is often combined with sterling. The best way to store turquoise and sterling jewelry is either in a sealed plastic bag, or else in a jewelry box lined with Silver Saver Paper.

Ideally, turquoise should not be stored in a pile of other jewelry (as is the case with small jewelry boxes) due to its softness.

To clean tarnished sterling on a sterling and turquoise piece, use either the Brilliant! Polishing Cloth or Silver Puff. This will remove the tarnish from the sterling, and is gentle enough for the turquoise.

Turquoise History and Myths

• In ancient Persia, turquoise was worn on the hand or neck to protect the wearer from an untimely death. If the stone changed colors, it meant imminent danger!
  
  Interestingly enough, dust, cosmetics, light and a person's pH can change the color of the stone...but danger cannot.


• Turquoise was thought to keep the bearer from ever becoming poor. (I suppose this was true...if you ever ended up in the poor house, you could sell your turquoise jewelry.)


• Turquoise was also believed to protect riders and their horses from accidental falls.

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