Shop a mix of classic blue turquoise and many shades of blue to green semiprecious turquoise beads. The gemstone occurs naturally in shades ranging from sky blue to grey-green, usually in locations where the soil contains high concentrations of copper. Most of the turquoise beads here are made from genuine turquoise that has been stabilized to make the naturally soft stone more durable. We occasionally are able to find AA-grade natural (unenhanced) turquoise from the Sleeping Beauty Mine in Globe Arizona (not always available), but of course it is much more expensive than it was in decades past. The Mexican turquoise beads that we had in the past, came from the Pino Chueco ("Crooked Pine") and Campitos mines in Sonora, Mexico.
Chinese turquoise gemstone beads offer a wide range of shades from blue to green and a varying amount of matrix. They're cut from genuine turquoise, and are generally stabilized using either wax treatment, resin stabilization and/or dye to improve the naturally soft stone's wearability. Most of our Chinese turquoise beads are mined and processed in the Hubei Province of mainland China. We also carry a few beads made out of Ma'anshan turquoise from the Anhui Province of China. Ma'anshan turquoise is closer in appearance to the famous blues mined in the southwestern U.S.A.
Turquoise has been revered for thousands of years. Its name means "Turkish stone" in French, a reference to where Persian material passed on its way to Europe. Turquoise is one of the alternate birthstones for December, and bright sky-blue turquoise is popular for the throat chakra.
Popular alternates for turquoise are African Turquoise (a variety of Jasper) and Dyed Magnesite.