Turquoise Belt Buckle Jewelry by Richard Tsosie

Description

With a natural Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, Lapis,

Coral, and Fossil Ivory Inlay>

Of special interest is the rare and beautiful
Red Mountain Turquoise gemstone
in the Chief

3" x 2 1/8"

This Turquoise Jewelry Belt Buckle is for a 1 1/2" belt or smaller

Turquoise has been known by many name, but the word turquoise derives from an Old French word for "Turkish", because the mineral was first introduced to Europe from Turkey.  Known to have healing properties, bring good fortune, carry wisdom, strength and helps overcome illness.  Turquoise is an Opaque mineral composed of copper and aluminum, varies from blue to green.  The best turquoise has skyrocketed in price in recent years. It is now apparent that the supply of fine, gem turquoise is disappearing at an astounding rate and soon will be an extinct commodity.  This has opened the floodgates for the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market. There simply is not a sufficient supply of natural turquoise to fill the jewelry demand. Almost all turquoise today is bonded or stabilized (filled with resin or water glass) to give the turquoise a deeper and more intense color (wetting effect) then it would naturally have, improve durability and permit it to be shaped. Bonded or stabilized turquoise is rejected by many people because it simply does not have the beauty and brilliance of natural gem turquoise. The majority of stabilized turquoise sold today appears much like a blue plastic toy.  Some soft natural turquoise will turn color from handling over time. However "gem" quality natural turquoise will not fade overtime due to how close the molecules are to each other. This gives the turquoise a very hard characteristic. Sedona Indian Jewelry seeks out high grade "gem" quality turquoise mounted in beautiful silver and gold settings by award winning artists.  The value of turquoise is determined mostly by the hardness, and richness of color. While Color is mainly a preference of individual taste, often the most desirable is a strong sky to "robin's egg" blue. Whatever the color, the turquoise itself should not be soft, or "chalky" even if treated, such lesser material (which most turquoise is) serves no purpose in jewelry as it will fade and lose color over time. The host rock, or matrix can be seen as dark brown, or black as splotches or a network or veins running through the stone.  Matrix in a stone can add value to turquoise if complementary, however this is rarely the case. Such material is called "spider web" turquoise, and is valued most in the Southwest Unites States as well as the Far East.