International Mine Information
Bao Canyon
Chinese turquoise from the famous Hubei Province. Distinct color includes greens, browns and muted blues.
Bamboo Mountain
In Chinese, this mine is referred to as the Zhuxi mine, located in the Hubei province of China. This mine closed prior to 1995. Most Bamboo Mountain turquoise is various shades of green although blue material does exist.
Black bridge
This stabilized variscite is mined in the Yazd district of Iran. The area is mined for iron, they just happen to find variscite there as well. This is not surprising given iron is the primary element responsible for turning turquoise green (whereas copper is responsible for turquoise being blue). Mining artifacts have been uncovered in this region dating back more than 3000 years. While the variscite is naturally very hard, the matrix in the stone is extremely soft (like silt). The stabilization treatment hardens the matrix and fractures from dynamite blasting.
Cloud Mountain
Located in the Hubei province of China, known as Yungai. This mine was closed by the Chinese Government in the early 1990’s due to unsafe conditions. This mine produced tens of thousands of pounds of turquoise during its years of operation. During the years of operation, the Chinese simply removed all webbed material, seeking only the clear, no matrix’d turquoise. Subsequently, when Americans showed up in the 1980’s they found enormous warehouses filled with what was previously deemed ‘worthless’ piles of webbed turquoise. This material ranged from low grade worthless chalk material all the way to the very finest high grade rock hard turquoise. When I first started collecting around 2002 - 2006, material from the Cloud Mountain mine was all that you could find online. Many American turquoise miners believe the introduction of Chinese turquoise to the American market had irrevocable negative effects. In particular, to pricing.
Egyptian
Egyptian turquoise is still mined from the original, ancient mines of the Sinai Peninsula - dating over 7000 years. The most important ancient turquoise mines in the Sinai are found in two locations: Wadi Maghara and Serabit el-Khadim. Evidence of the exploitation of these mines includes mining tools and industrial installations for producing them, as well as habitation sites and numerous inscriptions relating to royal expeditions to the Sinai region during the third and second millennia B.C. At the latter, better-known site, a Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 B.C.) temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, who sometimes appears in texts with epithets naming her the lady or the mistress of turquoise. In Egypt, the raw turquoise was fashioned into small objects, such as amulets and beads, and inlays that were mostly used on gold jewelry. It was also occasionally inlaid in stone. The Sinai was likewise exploited for its more abundant copper ores, which is equally well attested in inscriptions and archaeological remains. Other major Old World sources of turquoise known to have been exploited in antiquity are located in central and northeastern Iran. Egyptian reverence for turquoise is evident in historical references and modern culture continues to honor the significance and sacred nature of turquoise. Egyptian turquoise was used by healers, royal families and is featured in some of the most iconic Egyptian artifacts known to humanity. Hard stone with rich color variations and strong red and golden matrixes, each stone is coming from the same mines that once supplied legendary Pharaohs and Kings.
Lavender
Also known as Golden Hills or Kazakhstan turquoise, is special for many reasons. Discovered in 2013, Golden Hills turquoise comes from a deposit in the Golden Hills mine in Kazakhstan. The stone is a light blue color with a matrix that can be anywhere from a deep lavender to deep reds or browns. The Golden Hills mine sits in the hills of Kazakhstan where this turquoise is only mined in the winter months during the freezing cold and snow. They can’t mine it in the summer because of flooding in the area. Location and mining conditions make this gemstone very rare. Videos exist of the miners descending into the mine via ladders during snow blizzards. My opinion: rad.
Mediterranean Coral
All of the coral that I offer is 100% natural Italian coral that is cut into calibrated shapes.
Sonoran
This turquoise is mined in Mexico near the city of Cananea. This material is relatively new to the industry and is a newer deposit in the Cananea mines. Unlike most turquoise, Sonoran Gold is not mined in veins but rather as individual nuggets typically found in clay deposits.The material comes in an aqua blue, lime green, and a two tone blue and green color. It features a beautiful golden to brown matrix. The high grade is a beautiful two tone which fades from baby blue to lime green and features a yellow spider web matrix. The turquoise is soft and most of it is stabilized or treated with the Zachary process. Once treated it is extremely durable.
Tibet
Turquoise has played an integral role in Tibetan culture for thousands of years. In Tibet turquoise is worn for protection. There are deposits of Turquoise in many countries, but almost no group of people worship turquoise the way that the Tibetan people do. These peoples not only make jewelry, they also braid it into their hair, use it in spiritual altars, sew it into clothing. Most Tibetans wear pouches or other items hung from their necks or attached to some other part of the body. Most Tibetans also adorn their homes with prayer-wheels, musical pieces, bells, vases and other objects that are inlayed or decorated with turquoise
There are four sources of Tibetan turquoise; the finest material comes from an area in the Gangschan Mountains of Ngari-Khorsum in Western Tibet. Another area is in the region between Lhasa and the China-Tibetan border near the town of Chamdo which is about 400 miles north-east of Lhasa. There is another location at Draya to the west of Bathang, and the fourth area is in the mountains of the state of Derge in Eastern Tibet.
White River
This material comes from China. It is not actually turquoise but has similar aesthetic qualities. It is 100% natural.
SHOP STONES FROM THESE MINES