Hello Forum,
Im sharing a Kingman turquoise silver ring. I love this piece and wear it regularly. Im curious to know if this particular example of turquoise is in fact kingman, or if it is from a different mine. From my research it doesn’t seem consistent with other kingman turquoise examples i found on the internet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I think it could be Kingman; I believe it is the most prolific American turquoise mine (so it often is the default mine of choice), and the stones from it can look completely different from one another. The yellow in yours is odd though…so 
True, Kingman Turquoise is so varied in appearance.
Here are some cabochons that a very reputable seller is offering.
Please excuse the photo quality, but I hope the color variations come through.
I have seen Turquoise with similar yellow green areas attributed to Kingman Mine.
Thank you for all of these fantastic examples of Kingman turquoise. I can see the variety of colors, although none of which look similar to the one in my ring. My stone seems to lack the matrix i see in all the other examples. Could my stone be an example of a gem quality Kingman turquoise?
Your stone appears to be treated or stabilized turquoise, which are processes for enhancing lower quality material to acceptable characteristics for cutting and taking on a good finish. Without these processes the stone often looks washed out, and is too porous to take a good shine.
Your ring is likely commercially cast, and set or inlaid with treated or stabilized turquoise. These type of items are usually produced in quantity and sold in bulk to dealers at “jobber” price levels. The more popular the design, the more likely you are to find others like it popping up here and there. Less popular designs are quickly set aside, and therefore less numerous.
I have stabilized Kingman with little or no matrix. And having no matrix doesn’t necessarily make it higher quality. One of the best pieces of natural Kingman I have is spider webbed.
I’m curious, does the yellow in the stone come from how this stone was stabilized, or is it part of the matrix?
Thank you for explaining the process of treated tourqoise. That opens a new can of worms for me because the jewler is known for the most important part of his process of making jewelry is retrieving his stones from the mines themselves. He doesn’t buy stones in bulk commercially. Atleast thats what he stands by. He makes missions out of traveling to these mines to hunt for his stones. His clients are celebrities in Hollywood for the most part.
Here is another kingman turquoise ring i got from him.
Because he picks out these stones himself doesn’t mean they are not then stabilized. I know an artist who also does this with both her stabilized and natural stones. And if you trust him, I’m confused as to why you are questioning whether the first one is Kingman?
If stabilized the yellow color is natural and deepened through the stabilization process.
Stabilized is not necessarily a bad thing, unless you are looking specifically for a natural and untreated stone. I read that almost all turquoise these days is stabilized because so much of it is not hard and won’t keep its color. Turquoise changes color over time with handling and wearing (oils in our skin or what it may come into contact with) and that’s why many older, untreated pieces are often different colors, because it show where it has been touched or exposed to things. Blue turquoise can turn green, for example. So stabilization protects the color and makes softer stones stronger…it is an acceptable and common practice in the world of turquoise and does not detract from value at all.
Apparently the cabs in the rings i have are all natural, the jeweler replied. I messaged him on Instagram. Joseph also mines his own tourqoise. So the yellow is natural in this ring.
Got it. I quickly looked at his website; it doesn’t say he mines his own turquoise. It says he “located” a mine in Arizona, got to know the owners, and buys his stones from them. But at least now you know what they are. I’m still confused as to why you asked us what they are if you trust him.
From his website…
“Trust but verify” can often be a good idea to ease doubt or just to have confirmation.
Im wanted to hear from other experts in the field. I don’t know him that personally. Im just a repeat customer.
After we were all discussing the yellow color in the tourqoise and the possibility of them being treated, it contradicted what Joseph was saying about them beings natural stones. So i wanted to reach out to him to confirm that they are natural. I enjoy the discussions, and want to learn more about tourqoise. Its always been my favorite stone/gem. My father passed down a few pieces from his teen years during the 1960’s to 1970’s. And i found Joseph, who always impressess me with his clean, masculine designs.
