Types of Turquoise

Summary: There are many kinds of turquoise. And do you know them all? The purpose of this article is to tell you some information about several types of turquoise.

Turquoise is the word for Turkish in old French. The Egyptians first found it in the Sinai six thousand years ago. And then it was used in jewelry making. The ancient Egyptians thought it as a symbol of high social position. And now, turquoise is very common. It is considered to be a stone of life and good fortune. If you are enthusiasts of turquoise, you can learn more about the types of turquoise here.

Natural turquoise

Natural turquoise is taken directly from the mine and then cut into all kinds of shapes. It isn’t undergone any synthetic treatment. The colors of natural turquoise can grow richer with age if people wear them. And less than 3% turquoise is natural turquoise on the market.

Stabilized turquoise

Stabilized turquoise is natural turquoise. There are two different kinds of stabilized turquoise. It is usually cut from a very large nugget. As stabilized turquoise won’t change its color over time, it is regarded to be natural.

Treated turquoise

It is soft or chalk turquoise without being treated with a clear epoxy resin but the resin absorbs into the rock. The price of treated turquoise is much less than the natural or stabilized turquoise.

Reconstituted turquoise

It is made from chalk turquoises. Put the chalk stones together with clear epoxy resin and dyes, and then compress them into blocks to be cut into the shapes for jewelry making. The price of reconstituted turquoise is the most inexpensive.

Imitation turquoise

There is no turquoise in this category. It is made from the stone dyed to look like turquoise or directly from plastic. It is often used in costume jewelry making and priced accordingly.