Jewelry

[Kachina624]

You can use any of the photo processing programs. I mentioned Photobucket because that's what I have the best luck with.

[rac71]

I've been to Globe, AZ where the mine is. The copper mine is still open and producing. The turquoise mine's lease was not renewed. This was several years ago. Among other, non-disclosed factors, one of the reasons for non-renewal was how much product was being shipped & sold to China. The company felt American craftsmen should be the first priority. Most SB turquoise has been stabilized, cut, and set in Asia the shipped back here for resale. I avoid any SB piece listed as imported.

[SANNA]

That's why I like to buy the last that Michael Valetutti has. It cut buy Italians. He has now only small 4 mm stones left. Then he says he will be forced to buy Chinese material or probably stopped doing turquoise at all. He says those who stashed the real deal will be asking too much money. Who knows?

[ennui1]

..

[AliJoi5]

Oh man, I miss all the fun!!! Kachina - What a vision! A kaleidoscope of greens and blues and everything in between. LOVE! Congrats on all of your beauties!! And I must agree with you, morenci is a favorite. I haven't come across the right piece for me yet, but it's definitely on my hit list. So I think I've shared with you in the past, as a fellow admirer of lander blue, that I had a matched pair I was preparing to have set. I bought them several years ago from a dealer in Tuscon, and then about two years ago had them authenticated for good measure by the Turquoise Museum in NM. I wish the GIA offered this service. In any event, I have finally gotten around to having them set. The design is reminiscent of a bypass. I'm really pleased with the result!! Here is a pic of it on the hand of the artist/silversmith's model. Beautiful hands! I've yet to receive it... should be this week. I will wear it on my middle finger though probably because it's really large.

[AliJoi5]

P.S. Did I mention I'm a cluster ring fanatic? Jugs knows this all too well! Here is a recent buy... the turq is pilot mountain (love the vibrant aqua of this stone). The artist is my very favorite Navajo silversmith... LaRose Ganadonegro. Are you a pilot mountain fan Kachina? Not a particularly valuable variety since the mine is still producing, but the high quality stones can be pretty spectacular.

[AliJoi5]

Wow, that's gigantic... sorry.

[Kachina624]

Hi Ali, I love big cluster rings and yours is a beauty. I think big round or oval rings are the most flattering on the hand. I have a big one-stone Cerrillos ring that spans 3 fingers. That center stone could be Old #8 or even Royston. Of course I adore your Landers...will you post a photo of just the ring w/o a hand when you get it? I'd like a better look at the setting. Isn't turquoise with matrix gorgeous?

[champagnepoodle]

lol they said so, so I guess its so. LOL

[AliJoi5]

Thank you, and I sure will Kachina! Wow, that cerrillos ring sounds rad! It's funny... did you ever notice over the years that your rings have gotten bigger and bigger? Mine certainly have. I guess our comfort zone expands with our age.

Yes, I definitely like to mix it up with my turq whenever possible. But I am a sleeping beauty fan as well. I think I showed you a few of my other pieces with different turqs in them, so I won't bore you. But here are a few of my more recent clusters (some including SB) and also an "old mine" SB sing stone ring that is probably one of my very favorite pieces I own. The color is mindblowing and it's completely untreated. Of course, there is some heavy host rock in there though (which I know you'll appreciate!). I had it hand cut and polished and set in a 14kg bezel and then the rest is sterling.

Geraldine James (Navajo) SB turq... this baby is almost 2" long.

LaRose Ganadonegro (Navajo) SB turq and orange spiny...

Another LG ring... SB turq, orange and purple spiny, gaspeite, and Mediterranean coral. A favorite... I love rainbow colors.

LG again... dry creek turq (a favorite stone because it's just so far towards the opposite end of the saturation spectrum...

And finally here is the matrixed old mine SB turq ring by Donna Swoboda...