Jewelry

[chrystaltree]

Turquoise with matrix didn't go anywhere. Turquoise is my favorite stone and I prefer it with matrix in sterling silver settings. I have a huge collection, I can't stop adding to it. I really don't buy jewelry from QVC anymore. All of the shopping channels are pushing Sleeping Beauty but Jtv and Liquidation Channel have the turquoise that I prefer. Sleeping Beauty turq is fine and I suppose if I wanted a refined piece of turq jewelry in gold, I'd go with Sleeping Beauty but I perfer a bolder, artisan crafted look. The traditional green turq (not the bright green Chinese turq) does seem to be disappearing from the shopping channels. I've been looking for a bold pendant to go with a ring for quite some time now. They just don't sell it.

[chrystaltree]

On 9/17/2014 kachina624 said: The trouble with turquoise with matrix and TV shopping channels is that there is no consistency. They'll flash a shot of a stone with beautiful matrix and you can be assured it's the best out of 2,000 units. The best will be blah or worse, have nothing. Then you have 1,999 unhappy customers and potential returns. If I can't see the piece I'll receive, I'm not buying. Truthfully, this is the reason they hammered away at Sleeping Beauty and made you think you love it. It's easier and more practical for the merchant.

Well, it's a natural stone, so of course no two stones will ever be the same. But I've been buying turquoise for 15 years from Shopping Channels and I have yet to receive a stone that was misrepresented. They aren't stamping the stones out with a cookie cutter and painting on lines....the matrix is lines or veining in the stone. I cannot even imagine anyone expecting that there are thousands of identical pieces of turquoise in existence....not the real stuff anyway.

[Kachina624]

Of course it's not going to be identical; that doesn't even make sense. But there are acceptable, attractive matrix patterns and others. The majority of buyers will get "others". It's the luck of the draw. I have often been disappointed in shopping channel turquoise, and it has been misrepresented, especially on HSN and SHQ.

[goodstuff]

I like the matrix also and am glad I have some turquoise pieces with the interesting matrix patterns. If I buy new pieces, I will look for stones with matrix again. To me, solid blue-green turquoise without matrix looks rather like plastic or resin! Very little interest or appeal as far as I'm concerned.

[deedledeedeedle]

Sleeping Beauty does look plastic IMHO. Matrix is what makes the stone, in my eyes, a native Phoenixian. Oxidized Silver does have its place in Artisan Jewelry and I love it as long as its not too heavily done, then it just looks tarnished

[Beach Baby 1]

I like both but I am getting some SB pieces now. If agree that so,e Sb can look like plastic but Kenneth Johnson as a magnificent cuff on the CP website that I just got and I love it. I think it depends on the piece and the setting.

[Ardilla]

I like it all. I have an extensive collection of turquoise jewelry, some of which I inherited from my mother, her cousin and my grandmother. Much of it has matrix, and I don't consider that a flaw, just character. I've started to collect Sleeping Beauty, too, so that I have a nice mix. My favorite color is the blue-green, but I have (and enjoy) it all. One of my funniest experiences was the day I walked into a shop in Old Town Scottsdale, AZ that specialized in turquoise. I wore some of my mother's biggest and best stuff that day, and the sales clerks practically knocked each other over trying to get to me the minute I walked through the door. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. They knew they had a live one. So I offer you some advice: wear your best turquoise when you shop, and you'll get REALLY good service.