Gem Stone, Lucky Stone, Birth Stone, Precious Stone

TURQUOISE

Overview : Turquoise is a vibrant light blue stone often seen in southwestern jewelry. It is reasonably priced and quite lovely.The name turquoise may have come from the word "Turquie", French for Turkey, because of the early belief that the mineral came from that country . Another possibility could be that the name came from the French description of the gemstone, "pierre turquin" meaning dark blue stone.Chemically, a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum, turquoise is formed by the percolation of meteoric or groundwater through aluminous rock in the presence of copper.

Usage: Turquoise supposedly helps one to start new projects. Turquoise has been thought to warn the wearer of danger or illness by changing color. It is also believed to bring happiness and good fortune to all.

Legend : Turquoise, the robin's egg blue gemstone worn by Pharaohs and Aztec Kings, is probably one of the oldest gemstones known. Turquoise was being used before 4000 BC. Turquoise has been, since about 200 B.C., extensively used by both southwestern U.S Native Americans and by many of the Indian tribes in Mexico. In the 13th century, Turquoise was thought to protect the wearer from falling especially from horses.Legend has it that the Indians believed that if turquoise was affixed to a bow, the arrows shot from it would always hit their mark.

Occurrence: Majority of the world's finest-quality turquoise comes from the United States(Arizona , California and New Mexico), the largest producer of turquoise. Turquoise is also found in Australia, Chile, Iran, Mexico, Tibet.