Turquoise Value and Buying Tips
Monday, September 17th, 2002
turquoise come from?" and he
again said "Zuni". (Zuni is a tribe of Native Americans in New Mexico, also the word used to refer to their reservation where their turquoise jewelry comes from, it's not the name of any turquoise mine.)
The lesson here is you have to educate yourself to both appreciate what you're
buying but also to know what to expect in the way of price. You can't depend on the people who are selling it
to know that turquoise comes in different colors, from different mines, with different character and hardness.
Turquoise from mines in China accounts for about 80% of the stone in the U.S. market today due to the scarcity of American turquoise.
Chinese turquoise has usually been stabilized (but not always). The chunky blue green turquoise nuggets with dark spider web matrix featured in the
spring issues of Vogue and Elle magazines is mined north of Bhutan high in the mountains of the former Tibet. Northwest of Shanghai is the
Ma'ashan turquoise mine. The Hubei Province produces turquoise colors reminiscent of the much prized blues and greens of the now-closed mines
in Nevada.
If these stones were plentiful you wouldn't see 'plastic' turquoise, and you'd probably be seeing Zales or some other jewelry chain
with a line of diamond-and-turquoise rings. You won't ever see that because there isn't enough good turquoise to meet the demand.
The resale market for diamonds is as low as it is
because of the supply; good turquoise holds its value, and is going up drastically now. The mines that no longer
produce are the rarest and more collectible but gem-grade turquoise from any mine is a good investment and a joy
to wear.
2) If it doesn't state who cut
the turquoise into beads, cabochon, fetish, etc. it was made overseas in the Phillipines or China and is most likely machine-made rather than hand-made.
3) Do not give
any credence to the word "Genuine" when referring to Indian-made articles. That
word only refers to the style and can be used
to mislead the public. Since the Indian Arts and Crafts Act passed Congress in 1990, legally, the only word that has significance
for the consumer is the word "authentic", which you can
(usually) trust to mean that an item is truly Indian-made.
4) The price. Good turquoise has value reaching $100 and up per carat!
If the price seems too low, you're getting what you're paying for. Nothing is wrong with stabilized turquoise or imported items, it's just
against the law to sell it as natural and/or Indian-made so teach yourself and ask questions.
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