This treatment makes the sensitive gemstone more resistant. As the colour may pale when the stone has been worn for a long time, even high-quality stones today are treated with wax and subsequently hardened. Usually, it is cut into cabochons or beads, or into some more imaginative shape.īeing relatively soft, turquoises are sensitive. The most beautiful turquoises, in a splendid light blue, come from deposits in the north of Iran. The most well known deposits are in the USA, Mexico, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan and China. The crystals are microscopically small and can hardly ever be recognised with the naked eye.Īs a rule, turquoise occurs as a fillung in veins or crevices, or in the form of nuggets. These lively, more or less regular patterns are known as 'turquoise matrix'. Often, the material has veins or blotches running through it, which are brown, light grey or black depending on where it was found. The blue colour is created by copper, the green by bivalent iron and a certain amount of chrome. However, turquoise is only really turquoise in the very best quality mostly, the colour is paler, or bluish-green or greenish. In Nature, it occurs in the whole range of hues from sky blue to grey-green, and it is mostly found in places where there is a high concentration of copper in the soil. Turquoise is a copper aluminium phosphate with a hardness of 6, i.e. The blue comes from copper, the green from iron It is also often given as a gift, a stone of friendship, for the turquoise is said to be responsible for faithfulness and constancy in relationships. The turquoise' cheerful colour is said to endow reticent personalities with more confidence. In modern gemstone therapy, those suffering from depression are recommended to wear a turquoise or a chain with turquoise beads. If in earlier times they preserved horse and rider from unexpected falls, they are regarded today as the protective stone of pilots, air crews and other occupational groups who are exposed to an especially high degree of risk. The Indians of North America, who still produce a good deal of traditional silver jewellery with turquoises today, believe that the sky-blue gemstone opens up a direct connection between the sky and the sea.Īt all times and over the world, turquoises have been worn as natural protection against the powers of darkness. The Aztecs in Mexico, for example, used to decorate their ceremonial masks with this stone which was holy according to their beliefs. In South, Central and North America too, the turquoise has always occupied a very special position among gemstones. Indeed it is from that period that the name 'turquoise' originates, meaning 'Turkish'. It was not until the time of the crusades that they came to Europe. As talismans, they adorned daggers, sabres and the bridles of horses. The Persian scholar Al-Qazwini, for example, wrote: 'The hand that wears a turquoise and seals with it will never see poverty.' Turquoises were often worn on the turban, and often surrounded with pearls, in order to protect their wearer against the 'evil eye'. In earlier times, turquoises were even responsible for the material wellbeing of the wearer. Turquoise affords protection and joie de vivre
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |