Posted 9 years ago
Bigpappa
(1 item)
I found these in my fathers jewelry making box, he died in 1993 and I know he has had these since the '70s and was wondering what type of turquoise they are any info would help.. Email me bigpappa1pena@aol.com. Thanks
I don't know if the forum will allow me to post this link, but it's the closest I got to the information I think you're looking for (something beyond the selling of commercial "light blue" turquoise jewelry) http://www.se.edu/nas/files/2013/03/NAS-2009-Proceedings-Danchevskaya.pdf (notice the information about colors toward the top and the Indian understanding of the stone toward the bottom).
I wish I had listened more closely, but hindsight is 20-20. About 20 years ago I drove a friend cross-country so she could see her family in Albuquerque. In thanks, they gave me a choice of some jewelry pieces that they had collected over the years. I chose a ring with a dark green stone (similar to your center piece). (This is where I wish I had listened closer)...She was surprised by my selection (since most of the collection was the bright blue we mostly see in today's jewelry and I didn't choose any of those) and then she started talking about the concepts of male vs female turquoise, angry vs calm rivers...and on and on...but I confess I wasn't really listening. I was young, I thought I just had a nice ring.
Technically, the green appears to be just a color change as the result of surrounding minerals/metals. But, if the cultural interpretation interests you, you may want to poke around and see if you can find more on that. I'm not having much luck this morning finding online the information that she was telling me in person.
Thank you Junk collector, as a matter of fact I'm from NM and moved to Texas 15 years ago and just opened the box and stumbled across it and just wondered, Dad wore a lot of Turquoise as it was his favorite color, well I'll check the link hopefully it will help... Again Thank you
PS if you come across anymore info please let me know
Thank you for posting that article, junkcollector, informative and enjoyable read.