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Sleeping Beauty Turquoise

How many times have you heard “the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Mine is closed?”   Too many?  Why is there so much Sleeping Beauty Turquoise still appearing on air then?  Is it really rare?   Is it genuine Sleeping Beauty Turquoise or just Sleeping Beauty Turquoise color and quality?

These are all great questions and I hope I can help you understand what is really going on.  Yes, the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Mine, located in Globe, Arizona, closed in August 2012 for turquoise mining.  The owners of the mine decided to concentrate on copper mining only.  Is there still turquoise in the mine?  Yes, but no one knows how much or the quality and color.  Will it ever be mined again?   No one knows.  The owners, however, say no.

Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is revered and highly sought after due to its pure sky blue color which shows very little to no veining or webbing.   The only way to tell if turquoise is truly from the Sleeping Beauty Mine is to see the rough stones before they are cut.  Once cut, it is impossible to tell exactly which mine they came from.  For example, there is beautiful blue turquoise from Mexico that, once cut, is very close to the Sleeping Beauty color and quality.   There are also unscrupulous gem dealers who sell reconstituted Sleeping Beauty Turquoise as natural turquoise: turquoise, ground up into dust, mixed with glue, and cut into cabochons.  QVC does not sell any reconstituted turquoise of any kind.

No one knows how much rough Sleeping Beauty Turquoise has already been mined but not cut into gemstones.   Miners, gem collectors, gem dealers, and various gem lovers have been collecting and storing the rough material away for years, usually packed in barrels and stored in garages, storerooms, vaults, etc.  At the 2014 Tucson Gem Show, we found a large barrel of rough Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and partnered with one of our largest and finest jewelry manufacturers to acquire it all.   From that one barrel, we were able to produce January’s Gem Day TSV (J318104) and many supporting items.  All of the rough has been used, except for some small stones that will be gone soon.

This year, at the 2015 Tucson Show, we searched high and low and only found one small bag and it had already been sold.   We were very upset but did find beautiful turquoise from Mexico, China, and the Kingman Mine.   All beautiful turquoise and very collectable; you’ll love it!

At the Hong Kong Jewelry Fair, the largest jewelry show in Asia, we found many great gemstones, some of which have already been aired, such as the Csarite Ring and other stones to be featured on July Gem Day.   On the second day of the show, we had an appointment with a major factory and gemstone dealer, who used to be one of the largest Sleeping Beauty Turquoise dealers, but in recent years had very little supply.   Our mouths dropped and a large “OH MY” could be heard we when walked into their room and saw a pile of rough Sleeping Beauty Turquoise of the finest color and quality.  They had found a private collection of it and bought it all.  We immediately purchased everything and began working on new styles.   Many of the upcoming Sleeping Beauty Turquoise products will come from this treasure trove.  

We cannot say if or when we will ever find any more Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, but one thing is certain---if it’s out there, we will find it!

Part of the Sleeping Beauty Turquoise found at the Hong Kong Jewelry Fair.

Kingman Turquoise

Barrels of Turquoise and other gems at Tucson 2015.  This is where we found it in 2014.  No Sleeping Beauty Turquoise this year!

Part of the small bag of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Rough that we found in Tucson 2015.   It was already sold.

Marty Colbaugh, the owner of the Kingman Mine.

Hope this helps.   Please let me know any questions or comments.

Take care, Peyton