Jewelry

[Moonchilde]

Most of the time, I like the color of Sleeping Beauty turquoise, although I am tired of the can't get any more, it'll soon be gone shtick from every place that sells it, not just QVC.

But in some pieces, like the TSV, all of the small stones make me think of plastic/fake or reconstituted turquoise because that is the color and size of stones that often are plastic, resin, reconstituted, dyed, etc and to me it looks cheap rather than what the designer intended. And when it's used in stamped, pre-made settings, it looks even more like tourist jewelry from the local five and dime.

[Krimpette]

I have one piece of SB turquoise.  That's enough for me.  It does look kind of fake to me.  In fact I don't know how one could tell the difference between the real and plastic.  So I don't buy any more.  I preferred the interest that matrix provided.  But it does seem to be quite popular.  (I, too, am weary of hearing of the mine closing.  All the artisans must have really stocked up before it closed!)

[Moonchilde]

Krimpette, I think a solitaire stone of fair size, or 2-3 stones, in a simple setting, looks beautiful in SB. But not so much when "busy stuff" is added, especially prefab .

I have never liked matrix much because matrix pieces are commonly *lots* of matrix, but I have come around to liking and appreciating small bits of matrix.

[Azcowgirl]

Unfortunately there is some very authentic looking fake stuff with a matrix in it also ):

[sunshine 919]

I think the color of the sleeping beauty is really nice.  I have one ring from Evine and it is very nice it has amethyst with it.  I also like it with blue topaz that combination is really nice. However at this point one sleeping beauty piece is enough for me for now.

[FlowershopGirl]

I think in person, the SB stone doesn't look fake or plastic.  Its vivid and vey real to my eye. 

I really like the matrix in some stones and years ago when grandpa took me to Tombstone, AZ he found a ring for himself in the Bisbee Blue turquoise that was and is amazing.  My brother inherited it and he wears it a lot.  I'd include a picture here but I don't have one! 

[Katcat1]

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@Moonchilde wrote:
Most of the time, I like the color of Sleeping Beauty turquoise, although I am tired of the can't get any more, it'll soon be gone shtick from every place that sells it, not just QVC.

But in some pieces, like the TSV, all of the small stones make me think of plastic/fake or reconstituted turquoise because that is the color and size of stones that often are plastic, resin, reconstituted, dyed, etc and to me it looks cheap rather than what the designer intended. And when it's used in stamped, pre-made settings, it looks even more like tourist jewelry from the local five and dime.

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The TSV is way too much neklace and looks overdone.  Everyone has different taste but this is not a piece I would purchase.  Less is more.

[Moonchilde]

That's me too, katcat - less is more in jewelry.

[surfk]

Without either proper provenance or lab testing, a lot of stones are difficult to identify.

There are a lot of amazingly realistic fakes out there of both SB and any other turquoise one can think of.

Matrixing alone means nothing although for some people it causes them to think the stone looks more "from the earth" and therefore genuine.

Long gone are the days of cheapy fakes that almost looked like plastic hollow Easter egg plastic. lol

There is sooooooo much money in Native American-made jewelry, that some con artists go to great lengths to produce fakes on just as high a fake scale as some other forger might paint a Da Vinci that could fool a museum.

Lab testing can be fairly expensive. And they have to take the stone out generally. It can, though, usually tell you precisely what it is. Although, living in Santa Fe, its amazing how sometimes even those results can come out "inconclusive".

Simple tests which usually work - although never a guarantee - are to hold the stone to your (dry, clean) lips. It should be COLD or very cool as they touch your lips. Plastic and resins don't do that.

Another if you're more adventuresome is to take a needle, heat it up and find a spot on the stone that isn't too noticeable. Poke the needle at/into the stone. A true stone won't be penetrated. Plastic or resin will - and will leave a tiny needle mark or hole.

And there is something to developing one's EYE. Its like a picture of a fake next to a genuine stone can make them both look either real...or fake.

In person. you get to sort of feel the difference. You knd of develop an eye for the glow which a natural or genuine SB stone possesses (which a plastic or resin does not).

I hope some of that might be helpful to someone out there wandering the sometimes slippery streets of Turquoiseland.

[Kachina624]

The popularity of SB turquoise is the result of hype on TV shopping Channels. Twenty years ago it was seldom used except by the Zuni Indiams who make the "petite point" jewelry with very small stones, sort of a pave effect. It was not valuable or desirable. The best thing that ever happened to it was the mine closing.

Real connoisseurs of turquoise seek stones with an interesting, uniform matrix pattern and good clear color, with toward the blue or green. Many of the most desirable mines have been closed for years. In some the turquoise was actually destroyed and the mines back filled. This turquoise is the most valuable and sought after by collectors and the makers of fine, museum-quality jewelry.

I was in a gallery years ago, a place known for its fine quality Indian-made goods. The owner was talking to another person and she said, "I wouldn't let a piece of Sleeping Beauty come through my front door." That sort of sums up the attitude toward it by people who know the product.

Just for your information, the turquoise generally considered most valuable is called Lander Blue. It came from the Lander District in Nevada and only about 150 lbs were mined. I'd post a picture if I could, you can google it, but it's a rich dark blue with a fine web pattern all over the stone. A nice stone will cost you several thousand dollars.

People love matrix in a stone not for its genuineness but for the character and "personality" it gives the stone. When I select a piece of turquoise jewelry the quality of the matrix is my first consideration, and yes much Sleeping Beauty also had matrix. I will not buy a piece without a matrix I love. Then I judge the color of the stone; it must be bright and clear with no major cracks or defect that might cause it to fail.

Since my taste runs to stones from mines of long ago, I expect to pay a price for the stone. I have a half dozen or so unset stones sitting around waiting for a silversmith to appear. Some girls wait for a knight in shining armor, with me its a silversmith.