[Jewelry making - Article 00066] - Re: [Orchid] Stabilized Vs. natural turquoise?

[MillsGem]

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Jeanne,

    Gadzooks ! Five pounds of sliced Turquoise for sixty dollars ! That
    is an incredible price......problem is. there is TURQUOISE and there
    is turquoise. Many Turquoise mines produce PILES of mediocre
    material that must be treated or discarded. Furthermore, low grade
    Turquoise which has been DYED and treated is very often quite hoaky
    looking. By this I mean that it does not have the appearance of fine
    natural Turquoise but, rather, a monotonous ,gaudy, off color
    appearance. You have either fallen into a great deal or a pile of
    poop. 

    Good natural Turquoise is always much more expensive than treated
    material, although some alternative treatment methods do affect a
    naturalistic appearance. A good starting point in testing Turquoise
    is to hold a piece to your tongue. If your tongue sticks at all it
    is probably natural, but not necessarily good natural. If you
    suspect material that might be treated, applying a piece to a
    grinding wheel will give a distinctive odor suggestive of burning
    plastic. Natural; Turquoise, when applied to a grinding wheel, when
    you are not wearing a breathing mask, will ultimately result in your
    gaining an unpleasant metallic taste in your mouth. Another
    classical test for treated Turquoise is to hold a hot needle to the
    stone and, if the material turns brown it is resin impregnated. This
    latter test isn't very reliable because all too often the heat of
    the needle is insufficient to get a definitive reaction. 

    I suggest that you get in touch with one of the Southwestern jewelry
    supply companies and purchase a small amount of the various types of
    Turquoise, treated and untreated, and familairize yourself with the
    physical attributes of each. There is no substitute for in hand
    experience. Furthermore, Turquoise is infinitely variable inasmuch as
    each mine produces its own variations, not to mention the variations
    which occur within a given mine. 

Ron Mills, 
Mills Gem Co.Los Osos, Ca.

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