Jewelry

[Haca]

Hello OP and everyone who may not be aware of this, we had a very long thread about this very subject approx. one month ago. Search for it you'll find lots of good discussion. Eventually the thread morphed into something else: a discussion on turquoise in general. This discussion was then carried over under a new thread and can be found under "Turquoise Lovers". Happy reading!

[Kachina624]

On 8/30/2014 moonchilde said: I prefer turquoise without matrix, but they have over-hyped the SB to the point that I doubt both the worth and the desirability. There has traditionally been Middle Eastern turquoise that is matrix-less that I think has always been considered good/fine quality. Time to look for some of that - but I suspect it's expen$ive.

The turquoise to which you refer was Persian. Persia was what is now Iran. There are two mines in the Northern part of the country. Neither is in operation due to lack of interest by the government. I found a bit of it is still being sold by one man in Saudi Arabia. It's not available anywhere else.

For a number of years before it closed, they were actually "mining" the tailings outside the SB Mine rather than ore inside the mine. The tailings are the debris that's brought outside and is considered trash. That leads me to believe the good stuff was depleted.

[Jugtown]

On 8/30/2014 stevieb said:

Personally, I'm sick of hearing about that mine and of SB turquoise! Though they're not alone, the Q has clearly decided this is now the gemstone they'll pile-drive into the ground... First, it was the awful druzy, then it was black spinel and now it's this! It really is such a shame QVC's jewelry focus has become largely a one trick pony.

. . at least the SB turquoise is beautiful to look at lol . . as opposed to some of those other "gems."

[Crazed4Gems]

The story I have heard is that the turquoise mining was discontinued not because it ran out of material but because the owner of the mine wanted to concentrate on copper mining instead. Who knows - maybe turquoise mining will resume like you said....

[willomenia]

paul deasy said the same thing, that copper has taken over mining that's why mine closed. as with everything else, we'll be seeing sleeping beauty for years to come with the same story, mine closed. just look at tanzanite. besides, nature is the decision if there is to be any more turquoise, right?

[Haca]

REPEAT:

Hello OP and everyone who may not be aware of this, we had a very long thread about this very subject approx. one month ago. Search for it you'll find lots of good discussion. Eventually the thread morphed into something else: a discussion on turquoise in general. This discussion was then carried over under a new thread and can be found under "Turquoise Lovers". Happy reading!

[SANNA]

To change a subject a little. I just checked David Yurman ( out of curiosity) turquoise pieces. All pieces had been described as simulated turquoise!!!! I am appalled !!! For such money?! So we have to be grateful that we can buy genuine pieces from Q or Shop HQ. Really.

[sunshine45]

On 8/31/2014 SANNA said: To change a subject a little. I just checked David Yurman ( out of curiosity) turquoise pieces. All pieces had been described as simulated turquoise!!!! I am appalled !!! For such money?! So we have to be grateful that we can buy genuine pieces from Q or Shop HQ. Really.

Why does David Yurman use simulated turquoise?

Due to increased demand for turquoise, mines worldwide have become depleted and there is very little natural turquoise left. Because the Sleeping Beauty turquoise that David Yurman favors is particularly scarce, we have opted to use simulated turquoise in some of our jewelry collections. This material comprises natural stones that are ground into a paste, bound with resin, and dyed to achieve a beautiful blue hue.

How is hematine different from hematite?

Hematite is the technical word for iron oxide rocks that occur in nature. While very beautiful, Hematite is also quite brittle and doesn’t polish well. To achieve consistency and beauty in his designs, David Yurman chooses to use Hematine, a man-made stone also composed of iron oxide. Hematine is easier to manipulate and has a brilliant sheen. The two stones are virtually indistinguishable from each other and are close in value.

[MalteseMomma]

They have been saying that S.B. mine is closing for so many years. Way back when I used to buy

turq. from HSN and when QVC was selling the real Native American jewelry, not just what

C.P. sells .

[HandJive]

On 8/31/2014 sunshine45 said:

Why does David Yurman use simulated turquoise?

we have opted to use simulated turquoise in some of our jewelry collections. This material comprises natural stones that are ground into a paste, bound with resin, and dyed to achieve a beautiful blue hue.

This is what all shopping channel vendors sell when they market SB turquoise - at least David Yurman has the chutzpah to call it what it is!