Reconstituting Turquoise

Last post I told you about stabilizing turquoise with acrylic or some other kind of plastic. Sometimes, if the stone does not have a bright blue or green color, the stabilization may include adding a dye to enhance the color. Many people think this gives the stone an artificial look and some jewelry makers won't use these stones. Sometimes only the matrix is dyed.

Sometimes turquoise stones are so soft they shatter into chips or very small pieces. Or, tiny stones are picked up in the mines or off the ground. These can be ground up, mixed with epoxy, and treated with pressure to form chunks that can be cut and used in jewelry. These chunks are considered a lower grade of turquoise than the stabilized stones, though some jewelry makers will use them. This processing is called reconstituting.

There are also some processes that temporarily enhance the look and color of low grade turquoise. The stones can be heated or saturated in paraffin, polish, oil, silicon carbide, or other things that enhance them. These stones are considered undesirable and many reputable turquoise jewelry makers won't use them because the color will eventually fade.

Next post I'll tell you about (boo, hiss) artificial or imitation turquoise.

Treating Turquoise

Welcome back. I am blogging about what I have been learning about turquoise since my trip to the southwest and the start of my turquoise jewelry website. The history of turquoise is so fascinating and I gave you a small part of its history in previous posts.

People often wonder whether the turquoise they buy has been altered in any way. The answer is probably yes. Turquoise is a soft, chalky stone. Only abour 10% to 15% of it is hard enough to use as it comes from the mine - in other words, gem quality. Anything less will fade in color and shine. Untreated soft stones can absorb oils that can change their color. They could also crack in their settings and fall out.  For the next couple of posts I'll tell you how turquoise is prepared to be used.

The most popular way to prepare turquoise is to stabilize it. This involves subjecting the stones to a clear plastic resin with a lot of pressure. This makes the stones harder and allows them to keep their beautiful color. This process is completely accepted and stones prepared with this process are used for jewelry making all the time. Pieces of jewelry made with stabilized turquoise are less expensive than jewelry made with pure, hard, untreated stones.  However, stabilized stones are just as gorgeous in well made, high quality turquoise jewelry.

More about other treatments at my next post.