Help ID this turquoise, Indian Mountain? Gem grade?

Hi everybody! Can someone please Identify this turquoise, I think it is Indian Mountain but I’m not 100% sure. Any help would be appreciated!





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Hmmmm…also kinda looks like some Chinese turquoise.


It does look like one of the stones in what Steve posted above. Beautiful necklace! Is it older?

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Nice selection of Indian Mountain turquoise @Steve . The Indian Mountain looks much “tighter”. I think @Ziacat nailed it.

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I don’t know how old is it but It was made by Tully Sam, if that helps.

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the Indian Mountain variety group shot was posted for visual comparison

same shot grouped with Chinese Cloud Mountain for visual comparison

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I asked because I don’t know how long Chinese turquoise has been used by Native Americans. I’m thinking since the '70s or 80s? But I don’t know. I tried to find out on a quick look, but didn’t have time to dig deeper. Hopefully @Jason will jump in. It’s just my understanding is Indian mountain is somewhat rare.

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From what I have read about Indian Mountain it is pretty high up and isn’t mined except part of the year because of deep snow. I don’t think there has been heavy equipment used except once because of the difficulty of getting it to the mine. I’m also pretty sure the article says that there is about 3.5 lbs brought out per day late May through early October. I feel fortunate to have two pieces that came with provenance from the previous owner.



I also own a number of beautiful pieces with beautiful Chinese turquoise. Some have become pretty valuable in recent years.
Beautiful necklace that was shown above!

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Interesting, I read that it hasn’t produced turquoise in 20 years.


I have a cuff that I didn’t know what the stone was, I suspected Kingman, and Jason felt it was likely Indian Mountain. It just has a different look than those in the necklace. But we all know mines produce stones that can look very different from each other!

Edit: I know you can’t tell from one piece, but I’ve tried to research it a bit since I found that out.

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You are correct. Thanks for that because now I will treasure mine even more. I just read the same information on Waddell Galleries site two days ago but I’ve been dealing with a mass in my brain that was discovered in October (surgery Tuesday). It has been causing some problems with memory, headaches, eyes etc. It should all clear up once this is removed. The other good news is that after an intensive round of tests they have decided that it is most likely a pituitary tumor rather that the multiple myeloma that they originally thought. It is also still small so the prognosis is good. Sorry for the digression but I like to keep my facts straight about turquoise and that was a major omission on my part. :blush:

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That’s a gorgeous NA necklace! Great turquoise, and a wonderful design.

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Prayers for you, @Islandmomma. Hang in there. Blue skies ahead.

Also, the pendant in your bottom photo is perfect in every respect. Absolutely stunning.

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@Islandmomma Hoping all goes well for you, and that you have a speedy recovery.

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@Islandmomma These 2 pieces of NA jewelry are fabulous! Is the piece in the 1st photo a (dragonfly) naja pendant? I like everything about both of these pendants. You have great taste in Native American jewelry.

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Thank you. The dragonfly pendant is a necklace with dragonflies also in the chain. I believe he forged his own materials. The artist was Vernon Tracy who is no longer with us. The bottom pendant was made by Gabe Natan.

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Oh no! Prayers for you Islandmomma! But very glad it’s not myeloma.

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Thank you for your positive comments. I appreciate it and feel sure that surgery will be successful. :heart::blue_heart::heart:

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Best wishes to you @Islandmomma on your surgery.

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