I bought this ring online in September. It was described as turquoise (not identified). I was really drawn to the unique stone but thought it could possibly be a man-made product. (Only one other time have I come across a stone just like this mounted in a jewelry setting.) There are no hallmarks. Do y’all think this stone is turquoise? Appreciate your input. (The swirls are a creamy color, not stark white.)
IMHO it looks like plastique, but I’m no expert.
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Hmm, never seen it. It does look man-made.
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IN the 1980’s I purchased some rough, unstabalized, Sleeping Beauty Turquoise from Thunderbird Supply in Gallup, NM.
Most of it had a creamish substance in it.
Agree that most of the time white/cream in Turquoise indicates dyed Howlite or some other dyed stone.
Can you try wiping a small area on the edge with acetone or fingernail polish remover? If the dye is older, some of it will come off.
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@fernwood , your post made me look at a closeup of the stone. I thought the stone itself looked good as well as the setting, but that creamy swirl? In retrospect I see what appears to possibly be a crack running down the center of the cream colored areas. Could the stone be leaching a stabilization material possibly from being in contact with a solvent that dissolved it? Your thoughts?
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@fernwood That you’ve seen rough turquoise with a creamy substance in it gives me a bit of hope. I’m a little scared to do the acetone test since I’ve never done that before. Will let you know results if I do it.
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@StevesTrail @fernwood Just looked at the stone using a magnifying glass & flashlight. There’s no crack anywhere in the stone. I’m baffled by those creamy swirls, and that some of the black spots have a matrix-like texture. The stone is cold to the touch. (Wondering if it’s a glass product??)
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Maybe it’s chrysocholla.
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@fernwood @StevesTrail @Stracci Follow Up: just got back from my local Gem & Mineral Society’s 51st Annual Show. I wore my mystery-stone ring and showed it to 3 lapidaries there. The consensus is: The stone is not turquoise, but it is a genuine stone. (One lapidary didn’t venture as to what she thought the stone might be.) Another lapidary said the stone is Chrysocolla (though he thought the blue body background was right for Sleeping Beauty.) The other lapidary said it’s a variscite out of Arizona. They all really liked the ring. Walking around, I saw rough specimens of Chrysocolla at the Show and, have to say, some of those came close to my stone’s appearance. At least the stone’s mystery is somewhat solved - it’s not turquoise (and I’m ok with that).
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Color looks like turquoise, but structure looks more like agate. Never seen turquoise form this way. it’s a head scratcher for sure.
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It’s cool. Someone took the time to make the ring and showcase the stone 
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Thank you @StevesTrail!
I’d like to thank the Academy, my Dad- who got me into rocks when I was a kid, and my hubby who patiently follows me around at the mineral shows.
And of course my cat.
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this *almost has the look of block larimar… trying to find a picture and not sure if i can link here.
this is from a fb group, not sure if you are a member of it or you can see the entire post without joining, but this person posted a TON of images of various sources of block turquoise and associated stones.
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@Jemez2 Thank you for all of this information. No, I’m not a member of that group but, I was able to view all images from the link. I noticed a blue dyed synthetic turquoise that had a whiteish pattern. Sheesh, the breadth & scope of block & composite turquoise material is disheartening. I’ll be paying much closer attention now…
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Good luck @Patina . 
To that you need to add all the variations in natural and stabilized turquoise from each mine. And I see more use of non-traditional stones than back in the day. I find it to be too overwhelming to ID specific turquoise. Better to just go with what appeals to you.
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@StevesTrail I think that’s sage advice. If you’re happy with a piece of (turquoise) jewelry & wear it, then it’s all good.
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@Jemez2, thanks for the link; it was very interesting, and I am not on Facebook. That’s a boatload of block stone.
Although I admit, as I looked through a number of the other posts on there, I thought, “does anyone ever keep their jewelry and wear it??”
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