For thousands of years the ancient Persians exported Turquoise to the world, it was hugely popular and to this Polyester Yarn Fabrics Suppliers day demand is still massive, so huge is this demand that a worldwide industry has developed not just to mine it, but to imitate and reproduce it as well. The Turquoise Gemstone is the official stone for December and is also used to celebrate five years of marriage. Originally Persia (Iran) was the most important source of Turquoise but is now virtually mined out; good sources of the stone are Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Mexico, Russia, Tanzania and Turkestan. The very best material at the moment comes from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Arizona. The colour of Turquoise can range from a deep blue to blue/green a dark greeny blue to a yellowy green. Impurities present in the Gemstone give the Turquoise it's colouring, copper is responsible for it's blue toning while iron gives the stone a green tint. Persian Turquoise was less porous than most material mined today so was less treatable meaning you purchased natural, untreated Gemstones. Turquoise from the Sleeping Beauty mines are however very porous and are often soaked in a resin or coated with wax to stop the material from crumbling, as well as improving it's overall look and colouring, this treatment is known as stabilized Turquoise. Dyeing or staining Turquoise is another way to improve the materials colour, oil, paraffin and copper salt will improve the stones colour and lustre but are only temporary solutions, treatments of this kind result in what is known as enhanced Turquoise. Natural Turquoise can be quite expensive and it is for this reason many different imitations exist on the market today. Glass imitation Turquoise has been around since Victorian times and can be hard to distinguish from natural Turquoise, sometimes you can get lucky and see air bubbles near the surface which can give it away. Enamel has also been used to imitate Turquoise but has a much greater lustre than the original material. The Turquoise Gemstone has long been believed to be a magical stone that connects spiritual awareness and develops inner strength and calm. Turquoise has always been worn as a natural protection against the powers of darkness, even now it is used as the protective stone of pilots and aircrews and many other occupations deemed as high risk.
