Moha has made use of many semi-precious stones in its handcrafted silver jewellery. From corals, turquoises, lapis lazulis, to onyx’s in various shades such as green onyx, blue onyx etc, we at Moha love to experiment with what goes beautifully well with silver.
To Moha, jewellery is not just a piece of jewellery but an item made with love and respect for the skilful craft of creating beautiful pieces of jewellery out of silver. We wish to showcase jewellery to you in an entirely different light, that is, in the way we see it.
Jewellery is so much more than a piece crafted out of precious metal worn to accentuate clothing. It is a whole art which carries aesthetics and heritage within itself. We wish to connect you with what goes into the jewellery made by us, brought by you so that you can feel the joy which we feel on creating our silver jewellery on purchasing it.
This is why we have decided to bring to you a series in which we explain a little bit about how each piece of jewellery is born, the stones used etc. Today we have decided to talk about the turquoise – a stone which Moha makes use of abundantly in its jewellery.
One text summarises the turquoise as below;
“Sacred in some cultures as being a gift from the Gods. The stone of sky and water is said to protect and bless the wearer. It is said that it also carries success and good health, a happy life filled with good fortune.”
To the common man’s eyes, the turquoise is a bright blue coloured stone which beautifully compliments the colour of the silver medal. Its name is derived from the French word ‘turquoise’ which means ‘Turkish’, named so this mineral was first brought to Europe from Turkey. Also called as the Firoza, it is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral which is chemically stated to be a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium. It is a rare and valuable opaque stone with a blue to green colour. The most valuable and priced forms of the Turquoise is available in Indian market are the Tibetan and Arizona turquoise. Minerals of the colour blue are very rare which explains why the demand for this lovely mineral is so high within the gemstone market.
The beauty of a turquoise lies in the veins visible on this mineral. The veins are formed by the inclusion of several oxides from nearby rocks and stones. Veins can be brown, dark blue, black or even gold (rare but desired) in colour. Some turquoises have veins which form an attractive interlocking pattern called the ‘spider web’ pattern.
Turquoises are seen in four types in the market namely natural, stabilised, reconstituted and composite turquoise;
The ‘natural turquoise’ is the one that is mined and crafted into beads or other forms without any treatment i.e. naturally. It is the most desirable form of turquoise.
‘Stabilized turquoise’ is the one that is impregnated with a polymer or some binding material to make it durable to be cut and used in jewellery as it cannot be used directly used after mining. It is the most widely used form.
‘Reconstituted turquoise’ is made from pieces of turquoise that are too small and fragile. This material is sometimes crushed to small particles, mixed with a polymer or other binder, allowed to harden and cut into beads thereby making it a man-made product.
‘Composite turquoise’ is made from small pieces of turquoise combined with polymers, metallic materials, finely crushed turquoise and other materials and further cast into a block. These blocks are then cut into beads or other forms. Although it can contain traces of real turquoise, it is a ‘man-made product’ due to which gem labs usually decline to call turquoise.
In conclusion, it is the hardness and richness of colour which are the two major factors in determining the value of turquoise.
Some spiritual and healing properties of the turquoise are stated below;
Turquoise is a master healing stone and aids in many physical ailments and detoxification of the body.
It also helps the wearer to communicate efficiently and artfully and boosts creativity.
The turquoise is said to activate and open all the chakras when it comes to spiritual healing.
Stay connected for a lot more interesting information.
References -
http://geology.com/minerals/turquoise.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise
https://www.durangosilver.com/pyhsicalpropsturq.htm
Pictures -
Silver sun – Persian turquoise
Supply side of Etsy
Durango silver company
