The mine was known for producing brilliant sky blue turquoise with little to no markings, webbing, or matrix, making it very valuable and sought after. Since the mine was closed down in 2012, sleeping beauty stones are even more scarce and desired.
What is the difference between turquoise and Sleeping Beauty?
Regular turquoise is a popular blue stone that has a matrix (remnants of the rock it came from). But sleeping beauty turquoise is revered for its light blue color and clean look with little to no matrix.
Why do they call it Sleeping Beauty turquoise?
The Sleeping Beauty turquoise mine was named after the mountain range where it is located, which from a distance is said to resemble a sleeping woman with her arms crossed. Increased government regulations and mining costs led to the mine’s closure in 2012.
Is Arizona Sleeping Beauty turquoise valuable?
Rough from the mine used to sell for as low as $10 per carat in a wholesale atmosphere. Nowadays, if it can be found, rough can go for as much as $50 – or even higher as demand grows!
Why is Sleeping Beauty turquoise so expensive? – Related Questions
What is the rarest color of turquoise?
Blue Turquoise
The most-prized turquoise color is an even, intense, medium blue, sometimes referred to as robin’s egg blue or sky blue in the trade. The traditional source for this color is the Nishapur district of Iran, so you’ll also hear it described as “Persian blue,” whether or not it was actually mined in Iran.
What is the highest grade turquoise?
High Grade Natural Turquoise is the rarest of all Turquoise Grades. Highgrade Natural Turquoise is rated by AA, AAA and AAAA (which is nearly unobtainable and is less then 1% of the Turquoise on the market and in mines).
How do I know if my turquoise is valuable?
The Turquoise Quality Index (TQI) is a measurement of the quality of the turquoise stone. The TQI is a number on a scale between 8 and 100. The higher the TQI number, the better quality the turquoise, the higher the grade and the more valuable the stone.
How do you test Sleeping Beauty turquoise?
Turquoise is naturally a soft stone, but howlite (the turquoise imitation), is even softer. This means that if you scratch your stone and it scratches easily, you most likely have a piece of howlite. But if it’s very difficult to scratch your stone, you’ve got genuine turquoise!
How much is my turquoise worth?
The medium quality turquoise usually costs $3 – 5 per carat, which is $15 – 25 per gram, $450 – 750 per ounce, $6795 – 11350 per pound. Gem-quality turquoise price can reach up to $1000 per carat ($5000 per gram). Turquoise value is rarely expressed in pounds, as such an amount of solid gem material is rare.
Is Sleeping Beauty turquoise still mined?
It is still being collected from the Sleeping Beauty Mine in Globe, Arizona where a small operation of workers mines, processes and ships the stones. The famous Sleeping Beauty Turquoise was actually discovered by accident.
What is the purest turquoise?
Turquoise in its purest form is a hydrous phosphate compound of aluminum and copper, which creates the medium blue color we all know. Persian and Egyptian collectors prefer this medium blue color. Many say that this color is the most valuable because it is the purest, only having traces of copper or aluminum.
Are we running out of turquoise?
The mineral is becoming scarce and local mines are running dry. Turquoise is still being found and mined overseas and in Mexico, but the price is much higher than a local vendor’s. That’s why you see a lot of mosaics.
What is the oldest turquoise?
In America the earliest turquoise known is associated with the South American Cupisnique culture after 900 B.C., in the Middle Pre-Classic Valley of Mexico, 700 to 650 B.C. The oldest well-documented record of turquoise in the United States is from the Snaketown ruin in southeastern Arizona, two adornments were found
What happens when turquoise gets wet?
As mentioned before, water and humidity are not recommended. This mineral from dry and arid environments will absorb liquids and chemical products (water, soap, cream, ) and the colour will be altered.
Does old turquoise turn green?
Turquoise is a compound that includes metals such as aluminum, copper or iron. Water and oil can cause some of these metals to oxidize, or in other words rust. As a result of oxidation, the stones can actually change color. Blue turquoise that contains copper can change from a light blue to a dark green.
When did fake turquoise start?
Fake Turquoise
It began in the 1990’s when the mining of specific types of Turquoise was becoming hard to find. Chinese manufacturers found Magnisite, Howlite and a few other types of white chalk and began dying them and then stabilizing them with plastic resins to make exactly what they needed for each order.
How can I tell if my turquoise is real?
The most effective way to identify real Turquoise is to do the scratch test. Howlite or other materials fake Turquoise is made from are softer stones than genuine Turquoise. Lightly use your nail to scratch a less visible part of the stone like the backside and if it scratches easily, it’s howlite.
Is Sleeping Beauty turquoise hard?
Sleeping Beauty Turquoise ranks 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness. The preferred color of Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is a medium sky blue hue.
What does fake turquoise look like?
The fake Turquoise is usually made from howlite. It is a gray and white stone with dark gray veins. This can be dyed blue to look like the real Turquoise stone.
What is AAA grade turquoise?
Best (AAA)
These turquoise stones have a sky-blue hue and are also eye-clean. In terms of quality, this category features the top 10% of the turquoise stones.