Chocolate and turquoise are two colours made for each other. Yvonne loved the colour combination for her jewelry creations as do many people.

She started with round turquoise gemstone beads and the burnished copper metal focal bead. For the rest of her necklace, she used bronze and turquoise coloured beads. The super long bronze bugle beads also contributed to the tribal look of her design. For her earrings, she also used turquoise coloured flat square mother of pearl tiles.

Did you know turquoise was one of the earliest gemstones ever mined, with a history dating back 3,000 years? Its name means Turkish stone and is a misnomer. It was most likely derived from the French for Turkish, Turquois. But the gemstone was actually mined in Persia (modern Iran) and merely traded in Turkey to Venetian merchants.

Still extremely popular today, turquoise can be found in many other countries such as the US, Mexico and Australia. The turquoise found in the US contains iron which imparts a greenish hue. Sky-blue turquoise though was and is the most desired colour - the best comes from Nishapur in northeast Iran. However, a lot of what is available today for the jewelry artisan is treated in some way - either reconstructed, stabilised and coated or enhanced.

Metalsmiths know to be careful with turquoise when soldering as that lovely sky-blue can change to a dull green at about 250 degrees Centigrade. Light, perspiration, oils, cosmetics and even detergents can also rob this gemstone of its colour - so any jewelry containing turquoise should be removed before bathing or as in the case of rings, before washing your hands.

Beader Design #: 287

References
Walter Schumann. Gemstones of the World. Sterling Publishing.
Wikipedia : Turquoise
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