December Birthstone - Turquoise

Buying and Caring tips

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Tips for Buying Turquoise Jewelry

Prices for these gemstone range between $5 and $100 per carat for a one-carat stone.Several natural and synthetic things may be confused for turquois. Vivianite is a hydrous ferrous phosphate, Fe3P2O8.8H2O, that may impart a blue color to fossil bones. Some of this material is sometimes offered under the trade name of bone turquois. The bluish tinge shown by many of the fossils in museum exhibits is due to the presence of vivianite. Variscite is a yellow-green to blue-green hydrous phosphate of aluminum, AlPO4.2H2O. It is much softer than turquoise and crystallizes in the orthorhombic system. Malachite, a copper carbonate, Cu2(OH)2CO3 is a very deep blue green and usually has a layered structure. Chrysocolla is a hydrous silicate of copper, CuSiO3.2H2O, that is only 2 to 4 hard and has a specific gravity of about 1.46 to 1.57. Chrysocolla may often be impregnated with or suspended in chalcedony and produce a very hard but deep blue green stone. Colored glass is often sold as a turquois substitute and it usually shows swirls, bubbles, and a conchoidal fracture. It may contain some added, pulverized pyrite or bronze foil. Plastic will have a very low specific gravity and often show bubbles. It will melt and emit an odor if a non-conspicuous point of the stone is touched with a hot needle.

Tips to take care of Turquoise Jewelry

Wipe with a soft damp cloth and dry. Do not soak or use mechanical cleaners. Avoid chemicals. Silver cleaners will cause discoloration.

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