Natural Kingman Turquoise Heart Pendant, Rare Untreated Bisbee Turquoise, Bali and Thai Silver Necklace

Then we decided to include our very best rare 10 mm untreated Bisbee turquoise rounds, along with handmade sterling silver dotted bead caps, and sterling stamped pueblo pattern saucer beads, which measure about 14 mm. Our Bali beads are masterpieces, made in workshops that use techniques resembling those used in ancient Greece and Egypt. They give this piece a timeless look.

The Bisbee mine, or "the Lavender Pit", near Bisbee, Arizona, is one of the more famous of the American mines because Bisbee turquoise was one of the first put onto the market. Bisbee is a hard, finely webbed or dendrite, high blue stone, known for its "chocolate brown" matrix.

The turquoise mine is part of the Bisbee copper mine (The Copper Queen), the main operation of the site. Most of this turquoise has already been mined and what is left is in limbo due to circumstances with the copper mining in the open pit. As a result, it is one of the most highly collectable and valuable turquoise on the market.

Only top grade stones are durable and hard enough not to need stabilization. Turquoise of lesser quality crumbles without it, which is why so much turquoise today is treated. Stabilized stones are much cheaper.

The Kingman mine in northwestern Arizona is one of the largest turquoise mines in the southwest. Kingman blue has become a color standard in the industry--famous for its depth of hue.

It's true that Kingman turquoise is plentiful. However, since about 95% of Kingman is stabilized, it is rare to find untreated samples, especially a hand-shaped stone as large as this heart.

Measuring 17", this necklace is meant to be just a little bit longer than choker length so that the heart pendant really shows. This is an heirloom piece to be passed down the generations. It would retail for $1500 or more here in a Santa Fe boutique.

A personal note: You could always pay air fare of $250 to look at jewelry in Santa Fe & spend another $250 on a hotel room to find a $1500 one-of-a-kind creation like this, but why bother when you've got your own Santa Fe jewelry artist right here on Ruby Lane!

Item ID: SW 927