A while ago i ran into these stones that were for sale. I really liked them and the price was less then a cent per carat, so i thought why not acquire them. I’ll find a use for them in the future, perhaps use the thinnest bits for a small mosaic or something along those lines.
All the lady could tell me was that the bag they were in was labelled ‘Turquoise’.
I’m always wondering if they might be Sleeping Beauty, because of the white veins and especially the Robin’s Egg blue color. I’m also fascinated by saw marks. Could these have been a waste byproduct of the cutting process of raw Turquoise? I’d love to hear your thoughts
Hi @Blugreen. This looks like treated or stabilized turquoise cutting scrap. The odd bits and ends left over when the cutter has finished slicing and cabbing raw material.
Some of it could be Sleeping Beauty. Other bits look like Kingman or possibly other mines.
ETA: Most of these pieces exhibit some fracturing which would render them unsuitable for further cutting.
Thanks (again) for your detailed response @mmrogers ! Very interesting to read. I’ll keep them stored away for now, but i do intent to use them. Besides crushing some bits for a small mosaic i also want to try and shape & polish one of the bigger pieces (with my dremel, or by hand maybe) later this summer.
If you want to try cutting it, you may want to see if there is someone in your area with wet lapidary equipment who can tutor you. You’ll have a lot of fun!
If you decide on occasional cabbing, the small Graves Cabmate is a good option. You can cut, cab, and polish all in one small footprint unit. The company folded but used units are available and saws, discs, etc. are generic.
Thanks, i really should visit a buddy again soon who’s been working (mainly carving) with Jade quite a bit, plus occasionally Turquoise. He’s very much into silver lately as well. He also told me before to visit a local lapidary club, which he also does regularly.
Thanks for the tip! That really looks great. And very compact, which is important because i’m running out of space at my place atm. I’ll keep an eye open for one
I’ve switched to a cabmate and built a flat lap for my limited needs. We downsized so like you, I’m running out of space. If you can find the main unit with the parts you can add a drip tray and motor mounted to a piece of board.
The other day i started to work on these bits. First with some small nail files and now with a dremel tool. I want to do some more fine tuning and polishing, but i thought i’d share some photos already.
Not sure what to do with 'em, i was thinking to use some of it for a necklace, but i’m getting a little cold feet about drilling holes in them haha.
Funny thing btw is that there were bits of Jade (i think) mixed in to the lot, probably by accident.
Some of the turquoise have white cloudy spots that i cannot place, i’m wondering if those are ‘man made’, some harsh bleach residue or something, or if they are a natural occurrence.
@Bluegreen Hi ~ I don’t think the stones in the 3rd photo are jade/jadeite. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to identify them for you. That’s a really nice necklace in your 2nd photo!
Hi @Patina i’m also not 100% sure on jade, still investigating a bit.
And thanks! That one is not a necklace yet, i was fooling around a little, but i think i’ll try and make one like that.
Very nice work with the Dremel @Bluegreen. The stones are treated – infused through with an epoxy resin to deepen and stabilize the color. The white spots are colorless areas of white turquoise “chalk” which although treated remain colorless.
One sees this occur pretty frequently with batches of rough Sleeping Beauty turquoise. Part of the stone will be pretty blue and part will be pure white, sometimes with a gradient of the colors in between.
