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Strange turquoise, anyone recognize the mine? | Fine Jewelry948 of 1909 |  |  |
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Posted 11 months ago
Stillwater
(80 items)
I found this fantastic bolo tie at an estate sale the other day, just wondering if anyone recognized the stone? I don't put much stock in turquoise names, so I never research them.
(The truth is, its impossible to know with certainty which mine a piece of turquoise came from, because mines don't produce 100% homogenous stones. Even the experts don't know.)
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Native American JewelryWhile the tradition of making jewelry out of shells and beads dates to preh…
Bolo TiesThe bolo or bola tie, as it’s variously known, is a fairly recent addition …
The stone in your bolo reminds me of the turquoise that comes out of the number eight mine which is in Nevada but your right its hard to know for sure.
Hey thanks! I just looked through a few hundred Google Images of No. 8, and its almost certainly what I have, I didn't see any other variety with these rounded bits of turquoise. I know a lot about Native American jewelry, but I just never bothered to learn the names of the turquoises because they never seemed to be consistent, you know? Its like people will just call their turquoise whatever it LOOKS like, and it gets passed on, and on, and so on.
I had a piece similiar in appearance to yours but could not find info except yjat it is a matrix of silver and tutquoise. It was examined by a jeweler who said it was a matrix. The only way left was have it analyzed with a spectrometer to determine exactly what the elements are and compare it against known samples. very expensive.
Stillwater no prob- glad I cud give my tidbit. I think number 8 the mine is also depleted and quite rare so great find it really has a great color to it1
Yeah, I remember reading that No. 8 was No. 2 in value under Lander Blue. I was pretty lucky to get this for 4 dollars!
I have a resource book "Turquoise the gem of the centuries" by Oscar T. Branson, 1975. On p.33 shows examples of No. 8 w/courtesy info from: Owen's Indian Trading Company, Sante Fe, NM; Frank Patania's Thunderbird Shop, Tucson, AZ; and the Treasure Chest, Santa Fe, NM. These stores may not be in business anymore but might give you some further resources to google.
Yeah, I'm fairly sure it is Number 8 turquoise, it looks very similar to the examples I've found on Google Images. Thanks!