Turquoise Identification - A Guide for Collectors and Enthusiasts
Posted by Jim Olson on Jan 13th 2025
One of the most common questions we hear as turquoise dealers is, “What kind of turquoise is this?” It’s a fair question—many people want to know the origin of the stone in their piece. We have worked extensively with turquoise for a number of years, but readily admit, determining its exact origin is more of an art than a science — it’s a guessing game. Here’s why:
Some Challenges of Identifying Turquoise Origins
- Honestly, unless a turquoise stone comes with provenance (a documented history from miner to buyer), identifying its origin is primarily guesswork—even for experts.
- A knowledgeable person can make an informed guess, but it's still just a guess.
- Provenance is often lost when stones pass through multiple hands, this is especially true with older pieces of jewelry.
- Each mine can produce a variety of looks, making it even harder to attribute turquoise to a specific location once it’s been set in jewelry.
- The opposite of above, some mines can mimic each other and produce similar looking stones to each other.
Identifying Features: A Few Clues
While definitive identification is subjective, certain characteristics can narrow down possibilities. Typically, the top 5% grade from the better known mines has a distinctive look which can be attributed to that particular mine.
- Iron Pyrite (Fool’s Gold): Typically found in turquoise mines like Morenci and Kingman in Arizona, but is also present in some Mexican and Persian turquoise.
- Host Rock and Matrix Identifiers:
- Bisbee turquoise is known for its deep blue color and muddy-red matrix.
- Sleeping Beauty turquoise is typically sky blue with little to no matrix, though some pieces feature a dyed black matrix (a throwback to the days when the Kingman and Sleeping Beauty mines were under the same ownership).
- Many Nevada mines contain beautiful matrix, but so does most Chinese turquoise — so it’s important to know the difference.
- Prolific mines like Kingman can mimic many of the looks from other mines.
- Odds and Volume:
- With Kingman turquoise being so abundant, there’s a high likelihood that pyrite-inclusive stones are from Kingman rather than Morenci or other mines.
- There is more turquoise out there with reddish matrix than Bisbee ever produced (Chinese Redskin, for example). So not all turquoise with reddish matrix is Bisbee.
- Most domed cut turquoise is Persian. That is the preferred way to cut it there, although some Persian was cut elsewhere and is not domed.
Common Misconceptions and Generalizations
- “Green turquoise is from Nevada; blue is from Arizona.” While this might hold true in many cases, it’s not a hard rule.
- “Red host rock means Bisbee.” Mines in other regions, like Naco in Mexico and Redskin from China can produce similar looks.
- “Spiderweb patterns are high grade.” While the best turquoise often has beautiful spiderweb patterns, China is known for spiderweb turquoise as well. And while some Chinese turquoise is definitely high grade, most Chinese turquoise is looked down upon in the North American market.
- “A Native American told me it was ____, so it must be so!” That statement is just about as ridiculous as saying, because someone is from Wisconsin they are an expert on cheese. Ethnicity has nothing to do with becoming an expert on turquoise, much study and practical application does however.
- “Stabilized turquoise is not real.” Truth be known, most turquoise is stabilized in some way or another because, most turquoise is too soft to be used otherwise. Many experts agree that only about 5% of turquoise is actually “Gem Grade” and can be used naturally. Odds are, the stone in your piece of jewelry is real turquoise which has been treated in some way or another to make it useable.
Stories from the Trade
- Unverified Claims: A customer once insisted her turquoise was Bisbee because her father had worked at the mine. Despite its appearance resembling Sleeping Beauty and other generic green varieties, upon further investigation, her story likely held truth — proving that not all turquoise fits its "expected" look.
- Mislabeled Stones: A dealer selling trays of turquoise labeled by mine (e.g., Morenci, Bisbee, etc.) was later revealed to be selling Mexican turquoise which looked like each respective mine. This happens more often than one would think.
- Lander Blue Hopefuls: As the rarest and most expensive turquoise in the world, Lander Blue is what everyone with blue turquoise and dark spiderweb matrix, hopes they have. However, its has often been declared that there is more so-called Lander Blue turquoise on the market today than ever came out of the mine. Only about 100 pounds of rough were found in that particular mine, so without good provenance, it is not likely to be authentic Landers.
Advice for Buyers
- Buy What You Love: Unless you're a turquoise connoisseur or expert, focus on purchasing pieces that appeal to you. Authenticity of a certain stone matters most for high-grade collectors, where provenance is key, so don’t pay much extra for a stone’s supposed origin if you can’t verify it.
- Trust Reputable Sellers: Work with sellers who stand behind their attributions and have experience. A reputation for integrity is important.
- Educate Yourself: Learn from experts, read about turquoise mines, look at pictures and real stones as often as possible. This will help develop your own eye for the details.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to identifying turquoise, remember this: only the miner and the good Lord above truly know where a stone originates. The rest of us are making educated guesses (unless there is good provenance which has been passed along). Whether you're a casual collector or a dedicated connoisseur, trust your instincts, learn from reputable sources, and buy what you love. Who knows—one day, with much practice, you might be the expert answering, “What kind of turquoise is this?”
Jim Olson © 2025
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