There's just something about turquoise that makes me feel good!. Turquoise is a byproduct of copper, and the colour is usually dependent on the amount of copper contained. Mined in Iran, Egypt, India, China, Tibet and America, but the most prised being Iranian turquoise because of the sky blue colour. Personally, I prefer to see the matrix (remnants of the host rock) mixed in with the turquoise, to me it gives it an "earthy" look.
Turquoise is found in a range of colours from the light blue of the sky to the blue green of the sea. For centuries turquoise has been known as a holy stone, bringing the wearer strength, protection and good fortune. It is one of my favourite stones to use in my jewellery because it's smooth to touch and the blue/green colour range, reflective of the sky and sea, are calming, soothing and inspiring to me.
The name turquoise comes from the French "Turquie" meaning Turkish. After being mined it was often found and traded in Turkish bazaars, thus the name. Turquoise has been prized for thousands of years and has been used in most cultures at one time or another. The oldest pieces of turquoise jewellery were bracelets found on a mummified Queen Zar that date back to 5500BC, how cool is that!
My favourite use of turquoise is in Native American Jewellery. The Native American Indians have been mining and making turquoise and sterling silver jewellery for many years. Turquoise represents to them, God in the sky alive in the earth. When worn, they believe it guards and blesses the wearer and when the rains come they believe that tears of joy mixed with the rain in mother earth becomes turquoise, aka the sky stone. The Navajo, Apache and Zuni are some of the native tribes that started working with sterling silver and turquoise to make a distinctive style of jewellery, which is still popular and valued today. To me it's the ultimate "feel good" stone!
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Artisan jewellery made by hand with love. How it’s made matters. Sonara jewellery celebrates and supports humankind, this is my ethos and the heart Sonara.
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