The tag says "Turquoise" but is it?

When you shop around for Western jewelry you see a lot of pieces with the word Turquoise on the tag, but is it really Turquoise?  This is a topic I love to educate customers about.  I believe there's a lot of confusion about what is or isn't Turquoise.  Let's start with a bit of information.  It is chemically a hydrous (containing water) phosphate of copper and aluminum and is found in arid environments such as Iran, the American Southwest, Egypt and China.  It's a porous stone and is typically "stabilized" with plastics or epoxy using pressure. 

Quite a bit of  Turqouise on the market today is from China.   There are a few mines in the United States still producing and their prices can be higher than stones from China.  It's not by any means foolproof, but I've found over time my eye has learned to see the differences between what the two countries produce.

Some people believe that only matrix free Turquoise is real and that is not true.  Matrix are those lines and spots in stones and they come from the different minerals present in the "host" rock that a stone formed within.  Minerals also influence the color of Turquoise.  When iron is more prevalent the color will be more green, while copper will produce more blue shades.

The most common imitators on the market are usually either Magnesite or Howlite that have been dyed.  Magnesite in natural form is a creamy color with lots of darker brown matrix.  Howlite is a whiter stone with mostly grey matrix.  They easily take on colors and many on the market are not only a turquoise color but pink, green, red....you name it!   I have in my studio one bin of Turquoise, one bin of Magnesite dyed a turquoise color and a few Howlite bead strands dyed a turquoise color.  I show customers these bins so they can really train their eye to spot the differences.  Their response to this new information is very satisfying!


First we have the real thing!

This is a natural Magnesite bead on the left next to a dyed Magnesite bead.

Here is a natural Howlite bead on the left next to a dyed Howlite carved rose.

It can be very confusing when you see, typically online,  a jewelry piece listed as Howlite Turquoise.  Now it's neither Turquoise nor even a turquoise color, but that's what they've called it.  My guess is that's a ploy for keyword search or to make the consumer feel as though they are really buying something with Turquoise....?  

Some consumers care very much about the stones and if they are real, others just like the way it looks.  Both ways are great and it pays to learn about what you're buying either way.  You certainly want to make sure you're paying the correct value of the piece because Magnesite and Howlite are vastly less expensive than Turquoise.

Thanks for reading, I hope this has shed some light on a stone we all love to wear!
Happy Trails!
Michelle