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Author Topic: Turquoise?  (Read 1348 times)

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Lydia

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Turquoise?
« on: June 13, 2018, 01:18:54 PM »

Hi all...looking for info about what I think is turquoise...I got an RI of 1.61 (spot on a crappy hemicylinder so I'm not married to that number) but its translucent which kinda threw me. I just read that it can be translucent sometimes so I'm looking for additional input. Anyone seen anything like this and where might it be from? To be fair, it is a shade less blue but my camera has a hard time getting that extra hue of green. Nonetheless, it is a very saturated turquoise blue color. Help please!!

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PhilNM

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2018, 01:28:17 PM »

maybe gem silica? pretty regardless.
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rocks2dust

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2018, 01:34:40 PM »

If it is agate-hard, then I agree that gem silica is a good bet. If it is softer, then something like smithsonite, hemimorphite, etc. are possibilities.
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finegemdesigns

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2018, 08:02:29 PM »

Take one of the pieces with a sharp corner and try to make a scratch on glass with it. It can be anything like an old empty glass salad oil bottle. If it produces a scratch that you can feel with your fingernail it's likely NOT turquoise. More likely a type of agate like gem silica which is colored by copper.
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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2018, 08:05:18 PM »

Ok I will try...when I get back to it on Monday lol...thanks everyone for the input. I will let you know then!

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jgrocks

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2018, 10:12:34 PM »

I'm 99% sure that this is the rare Sleeping Beauty Turquoise from Arizona.
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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2018, 10:19:18 PM »

I've seen plenty of Sleeping Beauty and it doesn't look like this...can you explain further? Do you think its a much higher grade than what is common? I appreciate everyone's suggestions so far.

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jgrocks

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2018, 11:25:02 PM »

I've had Sleeping Beauty Turquoise like this before, I also have stabilized Kingman that can look like this as well. It is definitely Turquoise, hands down.
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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2018, 10:15:47 AM »

Take one of the pieces with a sharp corner and try to make a scratch on glass with it. It can be anything like an old empty glass salad oil bottle. If it produces a scratch that you can feel with your fingernail it's likely NOT turquoise. More likely a type of agate like gem silica which is colored by copper.
No scratch was made on the glass...There you have it folks.  After doing some research on the other options mentioned, I was leaning toward turquoise so it seems likely that this is turquoise, which makes me happy. Love , love, love turquoise!

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rocks2dust

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2018, 09:23:45 AM »

Not scratching glass only proves that it is not Gem Silica. It doesn't verify that it is turquoise. The translucency evidenced in your photo is highly unusual for turquoise (Sleeping Beauty or otherwise), which is why skepticism was expressed.
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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2018, 11:06:06 AM »

I hear you. Some of the other pieces aren't transluscent. Mindat.org does include translucent under the transparency description although I agree that it is very unusual. The associated minerals are typical for turquoise...quartz and pyrite. None of the other suggestions seem to play out but if it makes you happy then I will seek out other tests. Do you have any suggestions?

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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #11 on: June 19, 2018, 12:09:15 PM »

I'll see if I can get a streak plate and try that.

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finegemdesigns

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2018, 04:46:42 PM »

You are in decent shape if you don't plan on selling this as rough or finished stones. The issue with turquoise that affects 90% of it's value is provenance. If you don't know where it came from it is difficult to sell.
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Lydia

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Re: Turquoise?
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2018, 03:54:01 PM »

So its been awhile since I revisited the blue rocks. I finally have some streak plates and some tools to assess hardness. I believe the hardness is about 5.5 and the streak left on the black plate is pale blue to white.  I think it is turquoise. Where its from...no idea. Is it stabilized? Maybe....its not chalky at all. It doesn't have the resin coating like other stabilized rough I've seen but I know there's prob alot of ways to do that. I think its just really pretty blue turquoise that will be great for lapidary work here at the shop. Not everyone cares about provenance...some clients just want blue.
 

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