Designer handcrafted jewellery

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Turquoise the Birthstone for December

Turquoise is one of the Birthstones for December, the other is Tanzanite.

Colours are deep sky blues through to blue-green and green with dark brown matrix material running through the stone.
Turquoise is one of the most ancient gemstones, Egyptian royalty were wearing turquoise jewellery as early as 5500BC and Native American tribes have used it for centuries.
Persian turquoise is considered the finest quality and probably the most expensive, the USA also has good quality turquoise it's a slightly paler colour and softer.
Due to the high porosity of most turquoise it can be discoloured by chemicals, cosmetics and even skin oils. 
Turquoise is believed to be a stone of friendship and purification, attracting success and love to the wearer.