Article about efforts to grade turquoise and the museum in Albuquerque
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Thanks for posting this. It was fascinating! I have read a bit about this, but this was much more thorough.
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Itās nice to see a serious go at this with a peer review.
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Interesting! Thanks for posting this @chicfarmer.
I found the following statement quite apropos to an individualās assessment of a piece of turquoise: āThereās a difference between āThis is the best turquoise Iāve ever seenā and āThis is the best turquoise that ever existedāā
And itās so true that, as Phillip Chambless states: āItās the love affair with the stoneā. I think for most of us, that is the intangible quality that draws us in (along with the artist!)
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Great article! Thanks for posting!
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Great article. I hadnāt seen this one but the pictures in their books are beautiful!
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I guess I need to get over to that museum ā¦
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Have listened thru the full article, and found it quite vague. I guess it only makes sense when you can see the master stones. Have you had a chance to see those by purchasing the article? Digital master stones are a huge problem though, having huge difference in white balance and image profile interpretation on displays and operating systems, and differences of brightness and saturation on screen and with the camera in the first place. Calibrated displays are too complex and expensive for most people. So maybe they can instead offer low cost prints of the stones, but good enough to keep colors stable for some years. Color palettes to purchase on āpaperā are available for other businesses, like apartment floors, kitchen countertops, window frames etc. As long as kept out of direct sunlight, those should be stable for some time.
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I agree @gt75 . It is still a formidable task and I see many issues trying to produce master sets. It might only be usable as a guide. Iām still more inclined to rely on seasoned sellers with good reputations.
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I agree with you about seasoned sellers and people who have been in the business for many years. I have several Facebook friends (some of whom are even involved in the mining) who are very good at identifying turquoise and varisite. I love finding pieces with provenance but having knowledgeable people who can help with their educated opinions is a real plus when you are not able to be in the middle of the turquoise market in person.
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Here is my new set of Carico Lake that was made for my birthday. The artist only uses high quality stones with provenance.
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Definitely some nice turquoise and design.
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Love everything about that cuff!
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Iāve had the pleasure of spending time at the Turquoise Museum 3 times since 2019 when they opened at the new location. Jacob and I share the same type of humor (subtle and in left field and/or puns). Spent enough 1 on 1 time with Joe Dan to know I will never be able to accurately ID most turquoise. As far as relying on the artistās ID, the artist I purchased from informed me this was Royston which I assume is what his supplier told him.
Joe Dan let me know itās a common mistake but that this is No.8ā¦as were some other pieces I was told was Royston and Joe Dan evaluated for me. His books are more about turquoise than jewelry seems to be because of his love of the stone, not what someone does with them. I gathered from Joe Dan that ID is based on mineral content, color and most importantly, how color changes over time.
Bottom line is this is the current status of finally being able to grade turquoise. Once the grading has been established, how to disseminate will be tackled Iām sure. Personal opinion is Joe Dan has the knowledge and drive to get this done.
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I have toured the Turquoise Museum in ABQ. I canāt wait to do it again, there is so much to absorb. If you love turquoise, this is must for you!!!
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So, there is no doubt about Joe Danās knowledge, but Iād love to know specifically how he was able to determine your piece is absolutely No. Eight, as opposed to Royston, just by looking at it. It would certainly be different if he was using mineral and trace element analysis along with XRay Florescence analysis (as explained by Mike Ryanās article).
Iām not saying he is wrong, only that he, like a number of other turquoise experts, is giving his opinion. Itās a gorgeous cab, but in my less than expert opinion it is not typical of No. Eight.
Im curious, has anyone seen any No. Eight looking anything similar to this? There is so much No. Eight out there one would think someone would have seen other similar cabs.
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You are correct about being his opinion. One would have to ask Joe Dan how he comes to a conclusion as to the origin of a stone. I can only say between his knowledge of mines, minerals and turquoise I would trust his opinion, especially after the fact that he was not willing to offer an opinion of 3 different cabs. There were too many variables about them that to positively offer an opinion. No to offend anyone but I question many of the FB groups that offer identification based on a posted picture and take their opinions with a grain of salt for the most part. If for no other reason than the translation of color from one monitor to another.
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I think we are always saying on here that we are just doing educated guessing. And it seems to me that there are mines (for example Bisbee) that can have turquoise that has a very distinctive look, and yet those same mines still produce turquoise that doesnāt look anything like the typical stones. I guess what Iām trying to say is that I think there is (for example) Number 8 turquoise that clearly looks like Number 8, and yet the same mine could put out stuff that looks like what you have. I actually didnāt think your stone looked a lot like Royston. But again, educated guessing!!
I agree with you about Facebook. I am not on Facebook, but I can look at some of the open sites. Thereās one that has horrified me with some of the claims that are on there.
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I agree about Facebookā¦never again. And I also agree that from my rudimentary knowledge I would not have thought this was Roystonā¦itās such a beautiful, unique stoneā¦it would be great to know 100% where it was mined, and how long ago! And I totally agree that Joe Dan experience and knowledge is exceptional making him one of the best. Such is the wonder of turquoise.
This is an older pendent; Iāve thought it could possibly be Royston, but it looks somewhat similar to @TryingToLearn s gorgeous stone. Who knows??? And differing lighting can change the way a cab looks.
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I donāt think I could venture a guess on your stone, @Bmpdvm, but itās beautiful.
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