I made these cabs in the 1980’s.
My Navajo mentor said the material was Sleeping Beauty with Pyrite.
They have been tucked away in my “treasure box” of cabs and findings from that time. Handled very little.
Maybe these will help other ID Turquoise stones with Pyrite. They look like Sleeping Beauty to me. What do you think?
Sorry for the blurry photo.
I’m not very good recognizing SB. I’m mostly familiar with the stuff with little or no matrix, but these are gorgeous! I have a cuff with what I thought was Kingman; now I’m wondering if it’s Sleeping Beauty. Maybe I’ll post it sometime, and you can take a look.
Are you planning on putting any of these in jewelry?
And now as I’m looking closely at your stones, I realize I have another stone in a ring that I have wondered what the heck it was. The matrix looks a bit like these, so maybe my ring is Sleeping Beauty!
Yes, eventually. I have not had time to get back into silver work. Once I can finally retire, I will have time to do it.
It does! Fernwood thought this ring of yours might have a Sleeping Beauty stone. It’s a beautiful ring.
I’ve seen quite a bit of Sleeping Beauty but never seen pyrite! That said, I purchased some “lost vein” sleeping beauty turquoise from in Globe Utah in the late 90’s. It looks much like Bisbee, deep deep blue with a reddish brown matrix. So…interesting to learn that there is a variety of sleeping beauty out there…even some with pyrite!
Not trying to be picky, but could it have been Globe, AZ? That’s where the SB mine is. There are big open pit copper mines there. I have a friend who is San Carlos Apache, and I spent a bit of time in the Globe area while visiting her.
If you still have the turquoise, would you mind posting a pic of it? Ya know we all wanna see 
@Bmpdvm I’m unfamiliar with “lost vein” Sleeping Beauty turquoise. I Googled it but came up with zip. (Most likely I didn’t form my inquiries well.) If you have time, could you please share what that means and/or a photo of the turquoise? I’m very fond of turquoise with pyrite inclusions & have several such rings. I’ve always just presumed that they’re Kingman turquoise.
Hi @Patina. The frustrating thing about the “lost vein” sleeping beauty turquoise is that I can’t find any online info either. And I didn’t mean to give the impression it contained pyrite, since it doesn’t; it’s just unusually deep blue and has a reddish brown matrix. I bought it along with other Sleeping Beauty cabs from a Sleeping Beauty turquoise and jewelry gallery a long time ago. Evidently the gallery is now closed. A friend also purchased some of the cabs (they didn’t have much), but he’s now deceased. I believe I still have the sales info (somewhere), but the impression I got was that there was only a very small amount, and the term “lost vein” may have been a term used by the miners and this one shop??? But it is quite different from the robin’s egg blue turquoise typically associated with Sleeping Beauty. I will post some earrings and a ring I has made from the cabs before too long.
I couldn’t find anything on Lost Vein Sleeping Beauty turquoise either. But here are some info on weather Sleeping Beauty can have pyrite in it or not.
I have a few pieces of rough Sleeping Beauty with pyrite and quartz in them.
Am so glad I labeled all turquoise I got in AZ and NM.
These are the pieces I had made from the so called “lost vein” Sleeping Beauty cabs. I specifically remember the gallery owner saying the reddish matrix was unusual. This photo seems dark but that is the actual color!
And…looking at the matrix of the stone in the cuff, it actually has pyrite!!! I’m used to seeing the larger cuboidal crystals as in my Morenci, Kingman and Ithaca Peak pieces , but these are itty bitty tiny weenie crystals when viewed with my 30x loup. Without magnification the matrix just has a silvery sheen.
I had no idea pyrite occurs in Sleeping beauty…Thanks to @fernwood, and all of you…I’m expanding my knowledge!
I’ll bite on the Sleeping Beauty with pyrite, etc. Can your source provider a credible reference. I’m always a bit skeptical of a claim by a retailer without a reference.
Those are beautiful pieces. I don’t know which I like more.
I pretty much trust Garland’s. In the above post.
Unfortunately, I do not have a source for the rough material/slabs the cabs were made from. Just that a Navajo Gentleman named Charlie told me that it was Sleeping Beauty with pyrite in it. I cannot remember his last name.
Charlie had lots of turquoise slabs/rough. All was labeled with the type of turquoise.
If not pyrite, what do you think the silver material in the cabs is?
I’m not questioning what you were told @fernwood. I agree on the pyrite. I question statements by the online supposed knowledgable without appropriate backup, especially when I see doubt. Same goes for the “lost vein” claim. But is it Sleeping Beauty.
You folks have made me aware of more controversy surrounding turquoise and NA jewerly than I have ever dealt with in vintage and antique gold jewelry. And I do thank you for the awareness.
@Bmpdvm Thank you for your responses to my questions, and posting photos. What a fabulous jewelry set you had made with those beautiful Sleeping Beauty cabs! I’ve expanded my turquoise/NA jewelry knowledge, too.
@StevesTrail I completely understand your thoughts…as I said this gallery was in Globe AZ where the Sleeping Beauty mine is located, and had alot of SB turquoise. That was in the late 90’s, and I’m sad to say, I just loved the cabs and didn’t question the gallery information. I’d have asked alot more questions now. But I believe the term “Lost Vein” was simply their term for this deep blue SB turquoise with reddish matrix, (kinda like “ceremonial Kingman” -ha!). So it’s better I simply call it Sleeping Beauty and leave it at that 
