Named for its Arizonan County, Mohave Turquoise is a colorful and beautiful twist on an ancient gemstone, blessed with an intriguing and rich history. Exclusive to the Kingman Mining District of Arizona’s Mohave County in the United States, every Mohave Turquoise has its own beautiful mosaicking, making every one uniquely individual.
Hardness 5 – 6
Refractive Index 1.610 – 1.650
Relative Density 2.31 – 2.84
Enhancement Assembled, Dyed & Stabilized
Beauty
Mohave Turquoise beautifully showcases a colorful mix of bright crimsons, blues, greens, pinks, purples, and violets, in an assortment of highly-desirable saturations (strength of color) and tones (lightness or darkness of color), with striking golden metallic veins of bronze. Normal for Turquoise and very attractive, whether you choose mosaicking is up to personal taste, noting attractive and well-balanced patterns don’t affect Turquoise’s value. Simply determine your preference by assessing the gems’ overall appearance, along with its colors and shapes.
As a conglomerate of bronze and Turquoise, achieving a high-polish can be challenging, but this along with its bright hues, are key quality considerations. Expertly cut in the legendary gemstone country of Thailand (Siam), home to some of the world’s best lapidaries, Mohave Turquoise’s optimally cut ‘en cabochon’ (cut in convex form and highly polished, but not faceted) with a superior, mirror-like polish/luster and an excellent overall appearance (outline, profile, proportions, and shape).
Turquoise is a true cultural chameleon, appearing in some of the world’s most significant civilizations. While Egyptians, Mesopotamians (modern-day Iraq), Persians (modern-day Iran), Mongols, Tibetans, Chinese and Native Americans all greatly valued Turquoise, the two geographic areas forever linked with this gemstone are the Middle East and the Americas. Today, Turquoise is Iran’s national gemstone and also strongly associated with Native American jewelry, such as Zuni bracelets and Navajo belts.
Despite its long history, Turquoise wasn’t always called Turquoise. In Persian, the gem is called ‘ferozah’, which means ‘victorious’, and until the 13th century in Europe it was called ‘calläis’ (beautiful stone), probably from the Roman gem names ‘callainos’ or ‘callaina’. While some mineralogists and gemstone authors think these names represented our Turquoise during antiquity, others disagree.
Its delightful color aside, Turquoise’s rich history and mythology are probably due to it being one of the first gemstones ever mined. Mining Turquoise dates back to 6000 BC in Egypt and 5000 BC in Persia. In fact, a Turquoise and gold bracelet excavated in 1900 from the tomb of the Egyptian Queen Zer (5500 BC) is one of the world’s oldest pieces of jewelry. In the Americas, the Aztecs began mining Turquoise in Mexico around 900 AD and created elaborate Turquoise mosaics. The Mayans, Anasazi, Zuni, Navajo and Apache people were so taken by the beauty of Turquoise that by the 16th century ingenious cultures in the American southwest were using it as currency. The treasure of Moctezuma II (1466-1520), the ninth Aztec emperor and ruler at the beginning of the Spanish conquest, includes a serpent carving covered by a mosaic of Turquoise. Despite Theophrastus (the successor of Aristotle’s school of philosophy) noticing the gem in the spoils brought home from Persia by Macedonian soldiers, Turquoise did not make a big impact on European fashion until the Middle Ages.
A gemstone of prosperity in many cultures from the Persians to the Apache, Turquoise is purported to lighten or darken in color based on the mood or health of its wearer. While such ability was historically attributed to many gemstones, in his book ‘Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia’ published in 1609, Anselmus de Boodt claims that Turquoise grew paler as its wearer sickened, lost its color entirely on their death, but recovered when worn by a new, healthy owner. He also claimed if the wearer fell, the Turquoise would crack in place of their bones, which seems fanciful, but he was also fashion orientated stating, “…no gentleman thought his hands properly ornamented, or his elegance complete, without the acquisition of a fine Turquoise”.
One of December’s birthstones, Turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum. Coming in various intensities of blue and greenish-blue, it’s often mottled with black, brown, gold, and yellow veins of matrix (host rock), typically brown limonite or black manganese oxide. Turquoise’s modern name is a bit of a misnomer. When Venetian merchants brought the gem to France, it was called ‘pierre turquois’ (Turkish Stone), despite its Persian not Turkish origin, although it did originally reach Europe from Iran via Turkey. Today, the name ‘Turquoise’ is synonymous with both its unique color and the gemstone.
Rarity
While Iran’s ancient Nishapur (Neyshabur) deposit remains one of Turquoise’s premium sources, today, fine Turquoise is also commercially mined in the USA (Arizona and Nevada), and China.
Only available from the Kingman Mining District, Mohave Turquoise is also the only assembled Turquoise in the marketplace that features genuine Arizonan Turquoise and real metal matrix. Maximizing what’s mined, Mohave Turquoise is a clever use of Earth’s rare gemological treasures. It’s crafted through a process that uses a hydraulic press to organize numerous dyed Turquoise pieces into one conglomerate by introducing a bronze matrix throughout the base network of Turquoise. Once the Turquoise is assembled, it’s then stabilized with colorless resin to harden and toughen the gem.
While Mohave Turquoise is an assembled gemstone, the complexity and uniqueness of its crafting process, combined with the sole source, keeps Mohave Turquoise scarce, especially when calibrated for jewelry collections.
Durability & Care
A durable jewelry gemstone, Mohave Turquoise (Mohs’ Hardness: 5 – 6) should always be stored carefully to avoid scuffs and scratches. Clean with gentle soap and lukewarm water, scrubbing behind the gem with a very soft toothbrush as necessary. After cleaning, pat dry with a soft towel or chamois cloth.
Map Location
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