Handmade Jewelry: Turquoise

Turquoise, a soft semi-precious stone, is one of history’s most cherished and symbolically imbued gems. Prized for thousands of years, it is thought to be one of the first gemstones intentionally mined. Iran served as a key source of turquoise for at least 2,000 years, providing trade across the Middle East and Europe. In the Americas, turquoise moved between mining areas in present day New Mexico through trading networks, and were incorporated into the range of objects known as Aztec mosaics. Demand for turquoise from the Mesoamerican world arguably led to its popularity in the Southwestern United States. Areas of California and New Mexico were mined by pre-Columbian Native Americans using stone tools, reinforcing the heritage of turquoise as a symbol and ornament within Native American cultures.

Turquoise is a mineral composed of wet phosphate and aluminum. The pigment in it is copper and iron. Most turquoises are found in crevices in rocks that are rich sources of aluminum.

The color change in turquoise stone occurs as a result of sunlight, evaporation of natural water in it, purity and turbidity of air and contact of fats and chemicals with it. For this reason, it is best to remove the turquoise ring from the finger when washing hands. Also, at a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius, its sky blue color turns into a matte green color, and polishing turquoise stone causes it to become full of color.

Turquoise stone has many properties that in the following we will refer to the properties of turquoise in full, so stay tuned.

Turquoise has natural pores that cover them with plastic injection and make turquoise harder. Also, due to the large pores in the turquoise mass, copper and aniline salts are used to color it. There are also many minerals that, due to their resemblance to turquoise, provide them instead of turquoise, such as chalcedony, colored holite, amazonite, chrysocola, and lazolite.

Turquoise is a pure and precious stone. Turquoise repels negative energies and can protect the body against external and polluting effects in the air.

Turquoise stone has the ability to balance and align all the chakras of the body and its very good for turquoise based art crafts., stabilize mood swings, and induce inner peace in people. Turquoise is also an excellent stone for treating depression and fatigue. Turquoise stone has a force that is excellent for preventing nerve attacks such as panic and anxiety.

Early Use

In Mesoamerica, the use of turquoise was first seen in the 3rd century, becoming more widespread around the 10th century due to its ideological significance. The material was used in ceremonies, adornment and general decoration by kings and priests to represent desired outcomes such as rain, fertility and maize.

Originating from the French expression pierre tourques, the term ‘turquoise’ reflects how the material first arrived in Europe through Turkish trade routes during the Crusades in the 11th century. It was used throughout the Middle Ages as a talisman and was seen as a fashion item from the 17th century. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria re-established turquoise as a symbol of true love, leading to a surge in the stone’s popularity across Europe. The stone was also used by Art Deco jewelers and later in the 1960s and 1970s for statement pieces combined with diamonds and yellow gold.

Source: https://www.invaluable.com/blog/turquoise-jewelry/#:~:text=Turquoise%2C%20a%20soft%20semi%2Dprecious,the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Europe.