Here are some of our favorites that are commonly used by our Native American artists:Ījax Turquoise: The Ajax mine - located in the Candelaria Hills in Esmerelda, Nevada - produces some of the most STUNNING pieces of bi-color, blue-green turquoise available. Most people can probably envision what generic turquoise looks like when asked, but did you know that there are more than 30 types of turquoise commonly found in southwestern jewelry?įor those of us who can’t get enough of this gorgeous stone, here is a guide to just some of the extensive selection of turquoise that (we’re betting) you might not have heard of - and that you might just need to get your hands on. This makes purple spiney oyster more rare and often harder to find.A Turquoise Lover's Guide: Turquoise From A - Z Purple Spiney oyster AKA “deep purple” spiney oyster is much harder to harvest because of the ocean depth in which it is found.

This orange spiney oyster is the more common variety, it is found at mid to low ocean depths so snorkelers and scuba divers can easily get to it. Orange spiney oyster can range in color from yellow to orange to red. Many Zuni artist started creating with Spiney Oyster when coral was endangered and unable to be mined. The shells of the Spiney Oyster are rare finds and are especially treasured by Native American Indian artists for their beautiful red, pink, brown, yellow, orange, purple, and white colors. Typically found along the coasts of North Carolina all the way down to the waters near Brazil, also in the Sea of Cortez, and off the coast of Baja Mexico and Baja California. Spiney Oyster shell are unique, beautiful, and also difficult to harvest. The Spiney Oyster gemstone is a colorful shell that comes from the oyster species “Spondylus various”, as the name implies, Spiney Oysters are covered with menacing spines. This will continue to be debated for coming ages but, in the end, it is a beautifully bold stone that makes a statement in its black and white colors and so rare to be only found in one area in the world. “Until someone can prove differently, we’re going to call it white turquoise from the White Buffalo mine”, Otteson says. Otteson notes that, like turquoise, it lies in veins surrounded by black chert. White Buffalo has no copper and no blue color. It is questioned at times by definition because turquoise contains copper aluminum phosphate, which is what gives turquoise its blue color. It is mined by Danny and Dean Otteson, which classified White Buffalo as a turquoise as it is a similar hard stone as turquoise the only difference being that it lacks copper.

White Buffalo is only found in one mine is near Tonopah Nevada. White Buffalo is formed from the minerals Calcite and Iron. Sometimes you will also see brownish black matrix as well. White Buffalo is a beautiful white stone with fine black spider web or kind of a blotchy matrix. Because this Dry Creek Turquoise is as rare as the sacred buffalo, many Native Americans refer to this turquoise as “Sacred Buffalo”. To date, no other vein of this turquoise has been discovered anywhere else and when this current vein runs out, that will be the last of it. Dry Creek forms where there are few heavy metals present, which is a rare occurrence and the reason for the light whitish blue color. This is the case with most Nevada turquoise. Green turquoise forms where there is a higher concentration of iron. The blue turquoise forms when there is a higher concentration of copper, which is the case with most Arizona turquoises. Turquoise gets it color from the heavy metals in the ground where it forms. That is one of the reasons that Dry Creek Turquoise is so valuable. Most turquoise this light of a blue is chaulk and is too soft to cut.

It is a creamy pale blue coloring and golden to cocoa brown matrix.ĭry Creek turquoise is not treated or color enhanced and is revered for its light whitish blue turquoise color. Dry Creek Turquoise comes from a small turquoise mine outside of Austin, Nevada.

Light blue turquoise