Shopping For Better Home Accessories

When you find genuine Sleeping Beauty turquoise (so named because the mine that produced it was called the Sleeping Beauty mine, after a shape people could see in nearby mountains) it can be a really precious moment. Sleeping Beauty turquoise is not like other types of turquoise you've seen before. If you're used to the veined, pitted rocks you find in gem and rock shops, this type of turquoise is a marvel. The one drawback to finding real Sleeping Beauty turquoise is that it can be expensive. Maybe not as much as a diamond, but it is not a stone for tight budgets, for very good reasons.

The Mine Closed Long Ago

First, the Sleeping Beauty mine closed several years ago. There's no major operation there adding to the world's supply of Sleeping Beauty turquoise. So, there's a limited supply, and jewelry that contains a lot of this type of turquoise is going to cost you. It's worth it, but it's not costume jewelry. And, if you find cheap jewelry (as in costing a few dollars) that claims to contain Sleeping Beauty turquoise, it is possibly fake. This is why it is important to work with a reputable jewelry service.

Many Pieces Are Smooth and Blue, with No Rock Matrix

What makes this turquoise so special, in addition to it being rare now due to the mine closure, is that it contains fewer veins of rock. That blackish, grayish, dirtlike complex of streaks that you'd see in most other turquoise is still present but in much smaller amounts. The result is that lapdarists can create very smooth, large cabochons that have no veins in them and that do not have any cracks or crevices. The color is also magnificent and generally described as robin's egg blue or something similar. It's a bright, smooth stone with even coloring. That's highly coveted in jewelry and adds to the higher prices.

Much of It Is Too Soft for a Lot of Jewelry

Turquoise is a moderately hard stone in general, but Sleeping Beauty is often softer and needs to be stabilized with injections to make it harder. Otherwise, it can chip easily. Not a lot of Sleeping Beauty turquoise is hard enough to be used in jewelry without stabilization. That makes more of this jewelry more expensive.

Sleeping Beauty turquoise is worth the cost if you can afford it. It's still much more affordable than gems like diamonds, and the reasons for the prices you see are valid. Whether you want a ring, necklace, or bracelet, this is a stone that will stand out.

For more information, you can reach out to a company such as Pickle Barrel Trading Post.