Kingman Turquoise

We had just about worked and sold all our turquoise and so we went to our favorite turquoise rock shop in Rockport, Texas. It’s the only place we purchase turquoise as it is often faked. Previously we had purchased old stock Sleeping Beauty Turquoise at that store and some Morenci Turquoise from our mentor. At the store, we learned to our dismay that the store was closing. The owner had planned on retiring and his son was going to take over the store. Sadly, his son suddenly passed away. As he told us he showed several pictures of his son working in a turquoise mine and showed him holding a huge slab of the rock he had helped to unearth. The owner still had some turquoise that he had not sold. It was Kingman turquoise, from Kingman Arizona. Realizing that our source of authentic stone rough was going to disappear, we bought all that he had.

I so wanted to work the stone in Texas but our clubs rock shop had closed and so I had to wait until we got back to our studio and equipment shop in Wyoming. A few weeks after we got back, I was able to finally take time to cut some of the stone, grind it, polish it, and finish it into jewelry. To finish the cabochons, (the finished pieces), I wire-wrapped them using sterling silver twenty-two -gauge wire. I did not wire wrap all of them as some clients prefer to simply have bails attached to them as the wire pieces can get entangled in long hair and fuzzy sweaters.

The finished Kingman Turquoise pieces all took an exquisite shine and represent the best examples of our shop. Next week our summer shows start, with the Alpine Mountain Man Days Show. Our schedule continues with the Fourth of July Festival on the fourth of July in Cody, Wyoming. Our last scheduled show is a small show at the Star Vallet Rv Park Craft show, which is at our RV Park in the large log Barn.

As with all our work we guarantee that the stone, rock or fossil is correctly identified, and we will gladly refund any purchase. We also tell our customers that we will repair or replace any piece that is damaged with a lifetime warranty, (my lifetime). We have never had any piece returned and we have repaired a few pieces including a wire wrapped bracelet that had been stepped on. Clear skies If you want to test your turquoise to see if it is real. Take a cotton ball and wet it with acetone, (fingernail polish remover). Then rub it on the stone. If the cotton ball turns blue it is fake. For example the mineral howlite, a white stone, is often soaked in tidy bowl cleaner and turns blue. Almost all turquoise, (97%), is stabilized as the matrix in the turquoise can react with humidity and weather badly. You can often see this in old pieces. All of ours has been stabilized, (always ask). Also ask the dealer which mine the stone comes from. If they don’t know be careful. We have bought old necklaces, taken them apart, and repurposed the stones, but again ask for a guarantee. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise used to come from the mine in Arizona. The name is now patented, and it can come from anywhere. We have been told that most comes from a mine in Mexico. Ask before buying