Great old Blue Gem turquoise is pretty fantastic. I recently picked up acouple pieces in Santa Fe, both said to be Blue Gem. I’m sure the first ring is, but I’m questioning the second ring. I’m including a picture of a Fred Peshalakai ring that is Blue Gem (per Steve Curtis who wrote the book on Peshlakai). The turquoise in ring 2 appears very similar to the clear light blue turquoise in the Peshlakai ring. I’d appreciate any thoughts/opinions.
Ring #1:
I’m not actually of any real help here, but I can give you my impressions, for what they’re worth (not much ). My first thought when I saw ring #1 was Royston, but since Royston and Blue Gem are very similar appearing I could definitely see it being Blue Gem. Ring #2 has a Blue Gem look to me. Ring number three doesn’t strike me as Blue Gem, but since it is the one with provenance, that either just shows how little I know or how tough it can be to identify turquoise mines. Interested to hear what others think.
@OrbitOrange Hi, and thanks for your input. I think this shows how identifying turquoise can be confusing - I’m always questioning myself too and am unsure about the second ring. I can understand your confusion with Royston due to a lot of the gold matrix in the cab. To my eye, Royston is much more green and frequently had more of the gold matrix. The picture makes my ring #1 look more green than is is in person (sorry). And Blue Gem has that intangible gemmy glow (ZAT!). I’m attaching a picture of Blue Gem cabs showing both the deep blue and green, and the clear intense blue seen in my second and third rings (photo From Gene Waddell Gallery: Turquoise Mines).
(ps. Love your Jesse Robbins bracelet - wonderful!)
@Islandmomma. Yes, the first ring is my favorite, and much better in person than the picture. Wow! That is some cuff; I’ve never seen a piece of blue gem that large-amazing.
). My first thought when I saw ring 
